CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1116W, on Arts, on which projects relating to the creative industries and the arts the eight full-time members of her Department's staff working in this area are deployed; and how many staff hours are allocated to each such project.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 20 May 2013
	The Department operates a flexible resourcing approach which enables us to maximise our resources and respond to existing and emerging strategic priorities. The number of staff hours spent on a particular project is not recorded as departmental performance is judged by our meeting the commitments and milestones set out in the DCMS Business Plan.

Broadband

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been allocated for the delivery of the named super connected cities, announced in November 2012 by city; how much has been spent to date by city; and what the expected future spend is by year and by city.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS Ministers approved revised plans for the 22 Super Connected Cities at the end of June, with outline allocations across the cities amounting up to the full programme budget of £150 million. All the projects we have approved in principle are subject to further detailed assessments, with work under way to establish confirmed grant agreements by the autumn.

Travel

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officials in (a) her Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible claimed reimbursement for travel subsistence expenses in each of the last five years; what the total cost was of such claims; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest subsistence claims in each such year.

Hugh Robertson: The table sets out how much the Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials have claimed for travel and subsistence expenses in the last five years, the number of individual officials who claimed T & S in those years and the total value of the 20 highest claims in each year.
	
		
			  Total claim costs (£) Number of officials claiming reimbursements Total of the highest 20 claims (£) 
			 2008-09 98,348.53 362 16,573.57 
			 2009-10 117,993.13 350 18,999.85 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 60,866.18 232 17,346.54 
			 2011-12 93,390.20 284 19,225.31 
			 2012-13 145,240.59 262 32,319.72

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by the Government Equalities Office in each of the last three financial years.

Helen Grant: The information requested has been provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Location Cost(1) (£) 
			 2010-11 Eland House 800,000 
			 2011-12 2 Marsham Street 1,000,000 
			 2012-13 2 Marsham Street 1,200,000 
			 (1) Charges also include the provision of facilities management and network IT charges.

Civil Partnerships

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  what progress she has made on her review of extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples; and when she plans to publish the conclusions of that review;
	(2)  if she will publish the terms of reference of the review into extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples.

Helen Grant: The terms of reference and timetable for the review of civil partnerships were published on 13 June and have been placed in the House Libraries and on the Department's website. We are currently conducting policy analysis and gathering evidence to inform a document for full public consultation in the autumn. We anticipate that the review will conclude and the report be published by winter 2014.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what consultation has been carried out by her Department with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland on the provisions of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill as far as they relate to Northern Ireland; what representations she has received from the Commission on this matter; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Marriage law is a transferred matter for Northern Ireland. We have not received any direct representations from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. However, I understand that the Commission made two representations to the Department of Finance and Personnel in respect of the recent legislative consent motion arising from schedule 2 to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many apprentices are employed by his Department; and how many of those apprentices are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) over 60.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA employ 25 permanent members of staff who are currently studying for internal apprenticeship qualifications. They are aged between 26 and 59 years old. A further breakdown by age group cannot be given as it would potentially allow individuals to be identified.
	
		
			 Age band Number of apprentices 
			 Under 19 0 
			 19 to 25 0 
			 26 to 59 25 
			 Over 60 0 
			 Total 25

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Richard Benyon: The average cost to core DEFRA of processing the payment of an invoice is £6.80. These figures are based on April and May 2013.
	Of the payments made in April and May 2013, 99% were paid electronically and 1% were paid by cheque.
	Similar questions were asked in the previous two years. The basis for answering the question has been changed this year to make it more comprehensive and transparent. The previous answers have therefore been restated in the following table to enable an accurate comparison to be made between years.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Year of PQ 
			  2013 2012 2011 
			 Average cost of processing an invoice 2.60 3.56 3.70 
			 Average cost of making a payment 4.20 3.25 3.75 
			 Total 6.80 6.81 7.45

Bovine Tuberculosis: Milk

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents have been reported to his Department of milk infected by tuberculosis (TB) since May 2010; and for what reasons his Department bans the sale of milk known to be infected by TB.

David Heath: We are unaware of any incidents being reported of milk being infected by TB. The TB status of herds is assessed by live animal testing and I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has responsibility for food safety and hygiene matters, that the EU Food Hygiene Regulations state that milk from individual animals showing positive reaction to the TB test must not be used for human consumption. This restriction contributes to a series of controls which aim to minimise the food safety risk. In rare undetected TB cases, organisms of the bacterium that causes TB can be excreted in milk but are killed by pasteurisation.

Common Agricultural Policy

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the UK's allocation from the EU CAP budget (a) will be in each of the next five years and (b) was in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what arguments he used to justify an increase in the UK's share of the EU CAP Budget.

David Heath: holding answer 8 July 2013
	Table 1 shows the UK's CAP allocation and share of the EU CAP budget over the 2010-13 EU financial years (the last four years of the current financial perspective). Data to calculate comparable numbers prior to the 2010 financial year has not been published by the EU Commission.
	
		
			 Table 1: The UK's CAP allocation and share of CAP over the 2010-13 EU financial years, € millions, current prices 
			  Financial year 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 United Kingdom (€ million) 4,097 4,080 4,077 4,085 
			 United Kingdom (%) 7.7 7.6 7.4 7.3 
			 EU CAP total (€ million) 53,078 53,893 54,749 56,223 
		
	
	Data on the UK's allocation and share of the CAP budget over 2014-18 financial years (the first five years of the new Multiannual Financial Framework) is shown in table 2. The allocation of the CAP budget between member states has not yet been finalised for this period, so figures for 2014-18 are indicative at this time.
	
		
			 Table 2: The UK's CAP allocation and share of CAP over the 2014-18 EU financial years, € millions, current prices 
			  Financial year 
			  2014(1) 2015 2016 2017 2018 
			 United Kingdom (€ million) 4,021 3,919 3,925 3,932 3,938 
			 United Kingdom (%) 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.1 
			 EU CAP total (€ million) 56,628 55,313 55,543 55,749 55,752 
			 (1) This is before the application of financial discipline to direct payments. 
		
	
	The UK's share of the CAP budget decreased over 2010-13, as did that of other EU15 member states, as a result of the progressive introduction of CAP payments in new member states. The UK's share is projected to be stable over 2014-18: it would show a slight increase, but for the introduction of payments in Croatia, and the continued phasing in of payments in Bulgaria and Romania.

Farms: Crime

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for the Home Department (a) the prevalence of crimes on farms and (b) the effects of such crime on farms and farmers.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 4 July 2013
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), does not have any current plans to meet with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), to discuss this matter.
	Rural crime is primarily a matter for local police forces. Police and Crime Commissioners have been elected to focus police resources on the issues that matter most to the public.
	Schemes such as Farm Watch, Countryside Watch, and Horse Watch show how police working with their communities can help to deal with rural crime.
	There are many good examples of local police working well with local farming and landowning interests to focus resources on crime prevention and detection.

Food: Labelling

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress he has made on implementing the Coalition Agreement commitment to introduce honesty in food labelling so that consumers can be confident about where their food comes from and its environmental effect.

David Heath: Honesty and transparency in food labelling is a priority for this Government. We have supported the food industry principles on country of origin information so that consumers are not confused as to the true origin of food. Origin labelling for fresh and frozen meat is also a requirement in the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) 1169/2011.
	Furthermore, we have pressed the European Commission to deliver its report into the origin labelling of meat products earlier than planned so that we can make decisions based on a full analysis of the real costs and benefits that will be passed on to consumers.
	A major environmental impact of food is that too much of it is wasted. To address this, we clarified date labelling guidance in 2011 to make date labels clearer so that the people can more readily understand and be confident about how long food is safe to eat. Retailers are also issuing clearer advice about how to store food.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which aspects of the European Parliament's ENVI Committee vote on the F-Gas Regulation held on 19 June 2013 he (a) supports, (b) remains neutral on and (c) opposes; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 1 July 2013
	The outcome of the European Parliament's ENVI Committee vote on the F-Gas regulation will be considered in the context of ongoing discussions in European Environment Council Working Party meetings on the European Commission's proposal for the further regulation of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases). There is some way to go in these discussions to determine the final shape of a possible new regulation and we are yet to determine the detail of how a number of key elements of the proposal are intended to operate together. Therefore it is not possible at this stage to be precise about the potential merit of each of the ENVI Committee proposals for amendment of the Commission's proposal.
	In broad terms, the Government supports further action on F-gases, in particular hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), to combat rising global emissions. In principle, we support a phase down in availability of HFCs as one potential measure. However, many aspects of how such a phase down could operate are still under debate and the rate at which such a phase down could be achieved depends on a number of other complementary measures in the Commission's proposal.
	In particular there are a range of proposals for restricting the use of F-gases in specified circumstances which are still under discussion. We believe that such restrictions must be considered carefully on a case-by-case basis. This must take into account the availability and technical feasibility of alternatives to F-gases or the equipment in which they are used, as well as the financial and environmental costs and benefits of replacing them across the range of applications concerned.
	Any new regulation should not create unnecessary administrative burdens or place unnecessary burdens on UK business, but should facilitate the move from the use of high global warming potential F-gases to more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Internal Drainage Boards: Arun

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who the members of the Internal Drainage Board of Arun District Council are.

Richard Benyon: There is no Internal Drainage Board for the Arun District.
	There are two internal drainage districts overlapping the Arun District, which are managed by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency engages closely with local authorities and landowners in carrying out this work. Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, which include representation from local authorities, are able to make recommendations to the Environment Agency Board which oversees the internal drainage districts.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Benyon: In 2012-13 core DEFRA spent £692,668 on external lawyers' fees. Payments to the Treasury Solicitors Department (TSol), Parliamentary Counsel and Agency lawyers are not included. Some payments relating to DEFRA arm’s length bodies may be included. In compliance with the Government's Transparency Agenda, DEFRA publishes information on all payments over £25,000 at:
	www.data.gov.uk/dataset/financial-transactions-data-defra

National Parks

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) rangers, (b) planners, (c) archaeologists, (d) sustainable development advisers and (e) education officers were employed in each national park in England in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 5 July 2013
	The numbers of rangers, planners, archaeologists, sustainable development advisers and education officers employed in each national park authority in England in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Rangers Planners Archaeologists Sustainable development advisers Education officers 
			  (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) 
			 Broads 16.18 15.75 17. 2 4.68 4.9 5.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 
			 Dartmoor 10.6 9.5 9 (1)6 (1)6 5 1. 4 1.5 1.5 1 1 1 2 2 1 
			 Exmoor 4 4 4 7 6 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 
			 Lake District 25 22 23 20 20 20 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 New Forest 3.3 3.3 3.9 10 10 9.2 1 1 1 1.7 1.5 1.5 2.4 2.4 1.4 
			 North York Moors 8.7 8.7 8.7 (1)9.2 (1)8.2 7.8 1. 5 1.5 1.5 1 0 0 3.9 3.5 3.5 
			 Northumberland 10 7 7 1.5 1 1 1 1 1 0 .0 0 1.5 1.5 1.5 
			 Peak District 32 27.5 27 17 17 17 4 3 3 1 1 0.6 9.4 4 4 
			 South Downs 0 18 19 2 25 28 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 1 2 
			 Yorkshire Dales 19 18 15 10 8 6 2 1 1.5 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			 (1) Figures exclude forward planners

Nature Conservation: Crime

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) the National Wildlife Crime Unit, (b) the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit and (c) other wildlife law enforcement bodies have the necessary resources to tackle wildlife crime effectively.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 5 July 2013
	DEFRA is providing £136,000 to support the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and £34,000 towards a wildlife crime internet research project in 2013-14. No decisions have been made about funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2014 but we are in ongoing discussions with interested parties on this matter.
	Overall funding for individual police forces and other statutory enforcement agencies such as the Border Force is a matter for the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Nature Conservation: Crime

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Home Office and the devolved Administrations on specialist policing support for tackling wildlife crime.

Richard Benyon: The issue of specialist policing support to tackle wildlife crime was most recently discussed at a sub-group of the UK Wildlife Crime Tasking and Coordinating Group on 20 June. Discussions are continuing in the normal course of business.

Operating Costs

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what specific costs were incurred under his Department's operating costs in each of the last three years.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA's detailed operating costs are available in the Resource Accounts for 2009-10 and in the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) for the periods 2010-11 and 2011-12. The ARA for 2012-13 is expected to be laid before Parliament prior to recess and published shortly thereafter.
	DEFRA Resource Accounts 2009-10
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/reports/documents/resource-accounts2009-2010.pdf
	DEFRA Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11 and 2011-12
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs/about#expenditure-data

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held centrally. However, most newspapers, periodicals and trade publications are ordered through the core DEFRA library service.
	Based on our current records the spend by this service on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the 12 month period ending 31 May 2013 was £21,900.

Rural Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list all parliamentary constituencies ranked in order of rurality.

Richard Benyon: This information is publicly available from the Office of National Statistics. I have placed a copy of this information for England in the House Library.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA has the following official Twitter accounts in use:
	@DefraGovUK
	@DefraRural
	@ DefraFood
	@DefraWater
	@ DefraNature
	@DefraFisheries
	@DefraWaste
	@DefraClimate
	@ DefraRegs
	@DefraUKAir
	@DefraStats
	@DefraSusDev—Sustainable Development
	@DefraChiefScien—DEFRA's Chief Scientist
	@ChiefVetUK—DEFRA's Chief Vet
	@BHillDefra—Bronwyn Hill—Permanent Secretary
	DEFRA has the following official Twitter accounts that are no longer in use:
	@DefraCivilSoc
	@defra3rdsector

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Richard Benyon: The vacancy rate in core DEFRA for 2012-13 was 24% on average.
	For business planning purposes to ensure that resources are aligned to delivery of our strategic objectives DEFRA uses a turnover rate. For 2013-14 this rate is 2.5%.

Water Supply: Essex

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the water leakage levels in (a) Harlow and (b) Essex were in each year since 2008.

Richard Benyon: Ofwat, the economic regulator of the water and sewerage sector in England and Wales, collects leakage figures by water company area and not by local area.
	The Essex region is supplied by three water companies, Anglian Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, and Affinity Water. Their leakage rates since 2008 have been:
	
		
			 Leakage performance (Mega litres per day (Ml/d)) 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Anglian Water 209 210 210 (1)230 199 
			 Essex and Suffolk Water 68 67 (2)67 65 59 
		
	
	
		
			 Affinity Water (former Veolia East) 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.3 
			 (1 )In 2010-11 Anglian Water failed its leakage target. It was put on quarterly reporting by Ofwat and met its leakage target in 2011-12. (2 )In 2009-10 Essex and Suffolk Water failed its leakage target. It was put on quarterly reporting by Ofwat and met its leakage target in 2011-12. Source: Ofwat

Water Supply: Lead

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to reduce the concentration of lead in drinking water to the safe levels defined by the World Health Organisation.

Richard Benyon: New drinking water regulations were introduced in the UK in 2004 which set the standard for lead at 10 micrograms per litre (the World Health Organisation's guide value) with effect from 25 December 2013. In advance of this date, water companies have been required by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) to introduce water treatment wherever there is a likelihood of failure of the lead standard. Reports published by the DWI show that this action has substantially reduced consumer exposure to lead in drinking water. Water companies will continue to monitor for lead at consumers' taps and when levels above the standard are found, they will give written advice to the premises owner about the need to replace old lead pipes.

DEFENCE

Air Force: Military Bases

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his plans are for RAF Barford St John over the next (a) 12 months and (b) two years.

Andrew Murrison: RAF Barford St John is made available to the United States Visiting Forces. The Ministry of Defence is not currently aware of any changes to US plans for the Base over the next two years.

Armed Forces: Allowances

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to Spending Round 2013, Cm 8639, what changes to allowances of civilian staff will take place; and what estimate he has made of the amount saved through this measure.

Philip Hammond: The Department's spending round settlement assumes a saving of £30 million in 2015-16 from civilian allowances. The Department is undertaking a review of civilian allowances to identify where these savings can best be made.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which Government Departments contribute to the Deployed Military Activity Pool;
	(2)  what criteria governs the spending of funds from the Deployed Military Activity Pool;
	(3)  when the Deployed Military Activity Pool was established;
	(4)  who administers the Deployed Military Activity Pool.

Andrew Murrison: The Deployed Military Activity Pool (DMAP) was established in financial year (FY) 2012-13 as an additional funding mechanism to offer greater flexibility in the early stages of military operations. It is funded and administered jointly by the Ministry of Defence and HM Treasury (HMT) within the broader governance structure of the new Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, which is being established following the conclusion of Spending Round 2013. The funding of the DMAP is split 50/50 with HMT and allows us to carry out early preparations ahead of any formal operations.

Departmental Responsibilities

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what functions of his Department will be transferred to the Cabinet Office as a result of Spending Review 2013.

Philip Hammond: The Ministry of Defence agreed, as part of the 2013 spending round, to pass responsibility for some of the procurement of non-military goods and services, and information and communications technology (ICT), to the Government Procurement Service.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the cost of relocating 71 (IR) Squadron to RAF Wittering; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The costs of relocating 71 Inspection and Repair (IR) Squadron from Ministry of Defence St Athan to RAF Wittering are currently assessed at around £820,000. This will move the Squadron closer to the combat and large aircraft units which are their major customers and bring about operational and efficiency benefits.

Pensions

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what consultation process he plans as part of the review of the pension ages of the Ministry of Defence Police and the Defence Fire and Rescue Service; when he plans to complete such a review; and if he will place the terms of reference for the review in the Library;
	(2)  if the review of the pension ages of the Ministry of Defence Police and the Defence Fire and Rescue Service will consider (a) early retirement, (b) the effect on capability of officers and (c) the effect on the health and wellbeing of officers of a rising retirement age;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the number of officers likely to take early retirement if the pension age of (a) the Ministry of Defence Police and (b) the Defence Fire and Rescue Service were (i) 60, (ii) 65 and (iii) 67 years old.

Mark Francois: In line with the terms set out in the Public Sector Pensions Act 2013, terms of reference for the review are currently being finalised together with timescales for the work and details of the consultation process. Once this is complete, a copy of the terms of reference will be placed in the Library of the House. I can confirm that the review will consider those aspects referred to by the hon. Member.
	No assessment has yet been made of the likely retirement numbers. However, such an assessment will form part of the review and will be informed by work commissioned from the Government Actuary's Department.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reductions will be made in the (a) resource and (b) capital spending of his Department in 2015-16 as a result of the Spending Review 2013.

Philip Hammond: The Ministry of Defence's spending settlement for financial year (FY) 2015-16 is detailed in the HM Treasury Spending Round 2013 document (Cm 8639, dated June 2013), which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209036/spending-round-2013-complete.pdf
	This includes a comparison of resource and capital budgets between FY 2014-15 and FY 2015-16.

Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what change will be made to the capacity and function of the current B Squadron Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry base at Dawley Bank in Telford.

Andrew Murrison: No changes to the capacity and function of the base are planned.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not monitor a set list of third party Twitter accounts, but will monitor Twitter for matters which relate to the work of the Department and the armed forces. The MOD’s Directorate of Media and Communication monitors Twitter as part of its social media engagement and to inform the Department’s wider communications activities.
	The MOD does not record details of private Twitter accounts held by its employees for use in a personal capacity.
	The following is a list of Twitter accounts used by the armed forces and the MOD which have been registered for official use:
	Ministry of Defence
	@DefenceHQ
	@ArmedForces_Day
	@SoldierUK
	@UKForcesAfghan
	@DefenceImages
	@HQARRC
	@defencemedia
	@SPVAmod
	@MODGibraltar
	@Prism_Dstl
	@SaBRE_Support
	The following four MOD accounts are no longer regularly updated, but are still open Twitter accounts:
	@DefenceHQMeta
	@defencefocus
	@UKMilOps
	@MODPressOffice
	Royal Navy
	@RoyalNavy
	@BOA1943
	@RNjobs
	Army
	@britisharmy
	@armyjobs
	@theironfist
	@2_yorks
	@YORKS_REGT
	@combatphot
	@theroyalwelsh
	@engineersband
	@RIFLESband
	@Minden_Band
	@TheRLCBand
	@RGBandandDrums
	@RABand1762
	@remeband
	@PARA_Band
	@agc_band
	@MercianRegiment
	@ColdstreamBand
	@WelshGuardsBand
	@AAC_Band
	@kingsdivband
	@ArmyLGBT
	@demstrgregt
	@cateringsupport
	@243procoy
	@Si_Army_Phot
	@202FdHosp
	@ArmyWestMids
	@aaclynxdisplay
	@ArtilleryRoyal
	Royal Air Force
	@royalairforceuk
	@7644Sqn
	@rafredarrows
	@11GpBunker
	@RAFBenson
	@RAFBrizeNorton
	@RAFCareers
	@Chf_Eng_Air
	@ChinookDisplay
	@RAFCROWales
	@rafcricket
	@RAFFalcons
	@RAF_Gib
	@RAFInternalComm
	@RAFLeuchars
	@RAF_Lossiemouth
	@LossieStnCdr
	@RAFBBMF
	@TeamMerlin2013
	@StnCdrOdiham
	@RAFOfficer
	@RAF_Pres_Team
	@PMDAIRONLINE
	@RAFRugbyUnion
	@RAFTyphoonTeam
	@RAFRSQNLDR
	@RAFReserves
	UK Hydrographic Office
	@AdmiraltyOnline
	Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
	@Prism_Dstl
	The above is an account approved by DSTL for the employee support network for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community in DSTL; it shares information relevant for that group, as well as linking with other LGBT groups across Defence, and more widely across Government.
	DPBAC
	The following account is used by the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (DPBAC) exclusively for monitoring purposes. DPBAC is funded by the MOD but is an independent body that oversees a voluntary code which operates between the UK Government Departments which have responsibilities for national security and the media. DPBAC uses the Defence Advisory Notice System to prevent inadvertent public disclosure of information that would compromise national security.
	@DNoticeSec

Veterans: World War II

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the number of World War Two veterans in (a) Halton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK.

Mark Francois: This information is not held in the format requested. However, it has been estimated that there are some 4.6 million veterans in the UK. This figure includes veterans from every generation including World War Two.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Companies Obligation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the seller rating function on the eco-brokerage is going live.

Gregory Barker: DECC is currently developing proposals for a ratings function, for discussion with brokerage participants.
	The brokerage system, launched this year, operates on the basis of forward contracts (three, six, 12 months). It is important that any ratings function, if it is to be robust and objective, can reflect the actual track record of delivery, as well as allow new companies to compete fairly where there is no track record of delivery.

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of his Department's progress towards eradicating fuel poverty for all households in England by 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and ensuring that so far as reasonably practicable no household in England lives in fuel poverty by 2016. The Department recently published its Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics report, which showed that in 2011 the number of households found to be living in fuel poverty in England was 3.2 million, compared to 3.5 million in 2010. This is still an unacceptably high number of people living in cold, damp unhealthy conditions. Nevertheless, after a sustained period of year-on-year growth in the number of fuel poor households, the Government is making progress. It is clear that our determined focus on improving home energy efficiency is proving effective in tackling fuel poverty.

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the effects of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 on levels of fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), Ministers and officials have regular contact with counterparts from other Government Departments on a range of issues, including fuel poverty.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recommendations his Department has received from the Behavioural Insights Team based in the Cabinet Office on better incentivising domestic and non-domestic retrofit.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 5 July 2013
	The Department's customer insight team has collaborated with the behavioural insights team on a range of projects around energy use over the past two years and findings have been used to inform development of the Green Deal programme and consumer take-up. The Department continues to work in partnership with the behavioural insights team on trials and have informal discussions with them on potential ways to reduce domestic energy consumption using behavioural insights.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will confirm the criteria under which households are entitled to claim Green Deal cashback vouchers.

Gregory Barker: The full Green Deal cashback scheme terms and conditions, including eligibility criteria, can be found at:
	https://gdcashback.decc.gov.uk/Content/Downloads/GreenDealCashbackSchemeApplicantTermsAndConditions-v1.pdf

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 2 July 2013, Official Report, column 618W, on the Green Deal Scheme, in which (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority are each of the households who have had measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation to date.

Gregory Barker: The next quarterly publication is planned for publication on 19 September 2013 and will contain geographic breakdowns of measures installed under the energy company obligation.

Power Stations

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many power stations have been mothballed in each of the last 20 years;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the potential generating capacity of mothballed power stations in Great Britain.

Michael Fallon: Government do not hold information on mothballed power stations. National Grid has provided the following information, but has only been able to provide data as far back as winter 2007-08 in the time available.
	
		
			  Power station basis 
			  Total number of power stations mothballed Capacity GW 
			 Winter:   
			 2013-14 3 2.8 
			 2012-13 3 2.4 
			 2011-12 1 1.8 
			 2010-11 0 0 
			 2009-10 0 0 
			 2008-09 0 0 
			 2007-08 0 0 
			 Note: Data for winter 2013-14 is based on currently available information. The difference in capacity between 2012-13 and 2013-14 is because in spring 2013 one of the mothballed plants was closed, and another was mothballed, meaning that although the total of mothballed plant remains at three, the total capacity is different. 
		
	
	In addition to these power stations that are currently fully mothballed, there are also a number of power stations where some units are mothballed. It is very difficult to give a precise volume of additional capacity that could be available from these sources because this would be a commercial decision for plant owners.

Warm Front Scheme: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on the Warm Front Scheme in York local authority area in each year since the inception of that scheme;
	(2)  how many (a) single-pensioner households in York and (b) two-pensioner households in York have received Warm Front assistance in each year since the inception of that scheme; and what the average spend was on each of those households.

Gregory Barker: The annual spend, number of households assisted and average spend per household, split by one pensioner and two pensioner households, in the York local authority area under the Warm Front scheme is provided in the following table. Data are only available from 2005.
	
		
			   Assisted households Average spend per household (£) 
			  Annual spend (£) Two pensioners One pensioner(1) Two pensioners One pensioner(1) 
			 2005-06 500,538.27 42 206 565.62 732.42 
			 2006-07 853,463.72 76 635 998.23 799.62 
			 2007-08 1,089,234.26 88 679 1,336.93 1,143.52 
			 2008-09 746,593.63 65 358 1,410.95 2,076.59 
			 2009-10 875,777.76 53 231 2,201.64 2,167.92 
			 2010-11 823,359.56 44 152 2,135.10 2,978.86 
			 2011-12 242,604.19 7 60 6,649.27 2,177.84 
			 2012-13 90,449.00 1 31 1,999.14 1,906.93 
			 (1) Please note this could include some multi-pensioner households where other occupiers were not named, or their date of birth not given, on the scheme application form.

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the operation of (a) section 1 and (b) section 2 of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000; what recent representations he has received on the operation of the Act; and what responses he gave to such representations.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), receives representations and meets with stakeholders regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to fuel poverty. For example, both the Secretary of State and I attended the main annual meeting of the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group in April.
	Last year, the Government consulted on changing the framework for measuring fuel poverty. As part of that consultation, we asked for views on whether the proposed change in the fuel poverty definition had any implications for the legislative framework as set out in the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000. We received a number of responses to that consultation and are still considering our position.

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in HM Treasury on the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), Ministers and officials have regular contact with counterparts from HM Treasury on a range of issues, including fuel poverty.
	For example, as part of the recent spending review there were discussions on the continuation of the Warm Home Discount. The Government has subsequently announced that this scheme will be extended to 2015-16 at an increased budget of £320 million.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Court Sentencing: Referrals

Glyn Davies: To ask the Attorney-General how many representations he has received requesting that sentence given in a Crown Court be considered for referral to the Court of Appeal for review because it may be unduly lenient in the last 12 months; and on how many occasions he has referred a sentence to the Court of Appeal for such a review.

Dominic Grieve: My office publishes unduly lenient sentence statistics annually and has recently released the statistics for 2012, when I was asked to review a record 435 sentences. Of those, 344 fell within the scope of the ULS scheme and were received before expiry of the statutory time limit. Every one of those 344 sentences was considered personally by the Solicitor-General or myself.
	We referred 88 sentences to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient, 82 of which were heard by the Court. The Court granted leave to refer 73 of these and 62 sentences were increased.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Attorney-General if he will undertake a review of whether any victims of human trafficking have been prosecuted for offences that relate to their trafficking.

Dominic Grieve: At this stage, I have no plans to undertake a formal review of cases whereby victims of human trafficking have already been prosecuted for offences that relate to their trafficking offences. Following recent cases in the Court of Appeal in which victims of trafficking were prosecuted and convicted, having been advised to plead guilty by their legal representative, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is considering new guidelines for prosecutors, which are to be shared with the police and other law enforcement agencies and the Law Society to ensure a more joined-up approach in these cases.
	The CPS has issued comprehensive legal guidance to advise prosecutors of the steps they should take in cases where the police have arrested potential victims of trafficking who have committed criminal offences and referred them for charge. If information suggests that they have been trafficked, prosecutors are advised to make full inquiries and consider whether the case against them should be discontinued. In addition, guidance, published in 2011 by the Child Exploitation On-line Protection Centre (CEOP), advises that police should be alert to the possibility that any person, adult or child, identified in a cannabis farm could be a victim of trafficking and the steps that they should take.

Members: Correspondence

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Attorney-General what advice he has given to ministerial colleagues on the release of private correspondence between hon. Members and their constituents which have been forwarded by hon. Members to Ministers following a subsequent request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Oliver Heald: As a matter of convention, neither the substance of the Law Officers' advice, nor the fact that they have been consulted, is disclosed outside Government other than in exceptional circumstances. I see no reason to depart from that convention in this case.
	Both the Ministry of Justice and the Information Commissioner's Office have provided public guidance which deals with the release, under the FOI Act, of private correspondence between hon. Members and their constituents. That guidance is available on their websites.

Police: Wales

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General at what date the Crown Prosecution Service plans to publish the report by Her Majesty's Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service into the collapse of the prosecution of alleged police corruption surrounding the investigation of the murder of Lynette White.

Oliver Heald: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer of 27 June 2013, Official Report, columns 351-52W.

TRANSPORT

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department plans to conduct any studies on aircraft cabin air contamination.

Simon Burns: The Department's research programme into aircraft cabin air has been concluded and four published reports commissioned by the Department have been sent to the Committee on Toxicity (COT) for their consideration.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Independent Committee on Toxicity has reached any formal conclusions on the reports submitted by his Department about aircraft cabin air contamination.

Simon Burns: The Committee on Toxicity (COT) have yet to consider the reports. The Department of Health has consulted with the COT secretariat and determined that COT is intending to review the Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Studies at the COT meeting on 17 September 2013.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has received from scientific journals about (a) its report in collaboration with Cranfield University entitled Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Study: Part 1 of the Final Report, published in March 2011 and (b) other reports by his Department on the subject of aircraft cabin air contamination.

Simon Burns: The Department has received criticisms from a small number of individuals and organisations. The Committee on Toxicity are in possession of independent peer reviews of all the draft reports commissioned, to inform their considerations.

Bus Services: Concessions

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on concessionary bus travel for pensioners (a) in England and (b) in the City of York in each year since 2004-05.

Norman Baker: Prior to 2008 concessionary travel funding was provided exclusively through the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) formula grant. This block grant was unhypothecated so it is not possible to identify how much funding was allocated to a local authority for a particular service such as concessionary travel.
	In 2008 the statutory minimum was extended to cover England-wide travel and the Department for Transport provided local authorities with a one-off payment of £31 million for the re-issue of concessionary travel passes. The Department also provided a portion of funding through a special grant to local authorities until 31 March 2011 for the increased cost of the extension to the scheme. The special grant funding was:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008-09 212 
			 2009-10 217 
			 2010-11 223 
		
	
	Details of the overall special grant allocations covering the period concerned can be found at:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0708/hc02/0256/0256.pdf
	and
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0910/hc03/0306/0306.pdf
	Since April 2011 all funding for the statutory England-wide travel concession has been provided through DCLG's formula grant. The overall amount of formula grant funding available for local government from 2011-12 was set out in the spending review.

Bus Services: West Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local bus services in West Sussex are not reduced.

Norman Baker: Decisions about the provision of local bus services are a matter for bus operators and local authorities who are best placed to identify the transport needs in their area.
	Nevertheless, as I know well from my own constituency, buses are a lifeline for many people in rural areas - providing access to jobs, schools, health care and social activities.
	On 5 July, Official Report, columns 74-76WS, I announced the arrangements for reforming the existing system of local bus subsidy in England.
	Under the new arrangements we will be devolving around half of the BSOG budget to local authorities in order to give them more say over how this funding should be spent to benefit passengers in their area. Devolution in London will start in October this year, with that outside London following in January 2014.
	The Government also announced in last month's Spending Review that we would be protecting existing spending on buses for 2015/16.
	We continue to invest in local bus infrastructure and technology through the Better Bus Area Fund and the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. And we have also recognised the importance of community transport organisations in local areas with £20 million of additional funding - around £175,000 of which went to West Sussex County Council.

Motor Vehicles: Noise

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what timescale his Department is working to regarding the implementation of the proposal for a European regulation on the sound level of motor vehicles into UK law;
	(2)  what consultation his Department plans to undertake regarding the proposal for a European regulation on the sound level of motor vehicles.

Norman Baker: Negotiations on the proposed European regulation on vehicle noise are ongoing but there are currently no firm dates for its entry into force or application. Once negotiations are complete and dates agreed the Department will draw up plans to ensure the UK meets its obligations under EU law.
	The Department has consulted with interested parties throughout the negotiations and will follow the Government's principles on consultation before any changes are made to national legislation.

Railways

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on increasing the provision of rail services via Open Access train operating company providers on (a) the East Coast Mainline and (b) other rail routes; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The latest statement of Government policy on open access passenger operations can be found in the Command Paper ‘Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First’ published in March 2012.

Railways: Crewe

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the franchise agreement for services from Crewe to London via Kidsgrove operated by London Midland.

Norman Baker: Franchise service level commitments, including those for London Midland, are published on the Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207553/service-level-commitment-2.pdf
	In relation to southbound services from Crewe, London Midland's franchise agreement specifies calls at Kidsgrove at hourly intervals between a given ‘early’ and ‘late’ train, with one additional service on weekdays between 1815 and 1845.
	Sunday services have a different requirement, with five trains per day specified, running at two-hourly intervals, and with one additional service running between Crewe and Stafford between 1030 and 1100.

Railways: South East

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish the Terms of Reference for the South Coast Railway Study; and what progress has been made on that project since 9 May 2013.

Simon Burns: The London-South Coast rail corridor capacity study is being progressed by Network Rail under the terms of reference of its Long Term Planning Process which are available on its website. Work on the corridor study, which was announced by the Department on 9 May, is ongoing. Network Rail has also published online a draft Market Study for the London and South East region for consultation and is seeking the views of interested parties by 25 July 2013.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library details of the grants which his Department has given to each local authority for purposes of road maintenance in each of the last three years.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport provides funding to local authorities in England (outside London) through the highways maintenance transport capital block grant. This grant is allocated to each authority using section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. The funding is allocated by formula and an explanatory note setting out this is available from the Department for Transport website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-capital-block-funding
	I have placed in the House library a table setting out how much each local highway authority has been allocated for highways maintenance funding in the last three years.
	Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither revenue nor capital highways maintenance block funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services that they provide.
	The Department is funding local highways maintenance projects in Portsmouth, Birmingham, Sheffield, Isle of Wight and the London borough of Hounslow through the private finance initiative. I have placed a table in the House Library setting out the funding we have allocated to these authorities in each of the last three years.
	In addition the Department has also funded specific larger maintenance schemes costing more than £5 million from its local major funding programme.
	The funding for road maintenance in London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective administrations.

Shipping: Training

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he holds on the average total cost of qualifying as a deck or engine officer.

Stephen Hammond: The average cost of training through to certification varies depending on the colleges attended, the company providing the onboard training and the qualification route followed. This information is not held centrally.
	However, the Government currently funds training up to £12.3 million annually. Companies receive approximately £17,000 per trainee, and the indications are that this covers between 25% and 30% of the total training cost.

Shoreham Airport

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the possible sale of the freehold of Shoreham Airport.

Simon Burns: None, this is a commercial matter for the airport's owner.

Tonnage Tax

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport over what period the next end of period adjustment for shipping company groups elected to the Tonnage Tax scheme 2013-14 will take place.

Stephen Hammond: The tonnage tax training requirement is monitored on the basis of training commitment years, which run from October to September, rather than on a financial year basis. Companies and groups which have elected to the tonnage tax are required to provide End of Period Adjustment returns in respect of three four-month periods during each year: October to January; February to May; and June to September. The returns are due within 30 days of the end of each Period, so the next return, in respect of the period from June to September 2013, will be due in October 2013, The first return for 2013-14, in respect of the period from October 2013 to January 2014, will therefore be due in February 2014.

Youth Work

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department allocated for youth work in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Most spending decisions on youth services are made at a local level as local authorities are in the best position to assess local needs and priorities.
	Local authorities' planned and actual expenditure on youth services, where it is segregated from other services, is published at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/financeandfunding/section251
	The Department for Transport has made no funding allocations specific to youth work.

SCOTLAND

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many vending machines in his Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not have any vending machines in its premises.

WALES

Third Sector

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he plans to publish the consensual narrative outlining a vision for the future contribution of civil society to the wellbeing of Wales referred to in the terms of reference for the Wales Office Big Society Advisory Forum.

Stephen Crabb: There was no commitment to publish a narrative in the terms of reference. The UK Government is taking forward a number of actions to support the objectives of the Big Society such as cutting red tape for charities, encouraging social action in communities with the National Citizen Service and getting more resources into the VCSE sector with innovative social investment initiatives such as Big Society capital and social investment bonds.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of her Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

Theresa Villiers: Officials in the Northern Ireland Office press office currently have responsibility for monitoring and updating one Twitter account:
	@NIOpressoffice

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vending machines in her Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

Theresa Villiers: There are two vending machines in Stormont House in Belfast. Staff in the London office, which is shared with other Government Departments, have access to vending machines provided by the landlord. While the vending machines contain mainly confectionery items, lower calorie and higher nutritional value items are also available to purchase over the counter at both locations.

Youth Work

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding her Department allocated for youth work in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: My Department did not allocate funding for youth work in 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

African Union

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the future work programme of the African Union High-level Implementation Panel.

Mark Simmonds: The African Union High-Level Implementation panel has played a positive role in facilitating agreement between Sudan and South Sudan on the majority of disputes between them. We continue to work closely with it and support its mediation efforts, including through the UN Security Council. The panel's mandate is due to expire at the end of July 2013. We understand that the African Union Peace and Security Council will meet later this month to agree whether this should be extended, to oversee implementation of those agreements already reached, and pursue resolution of all outstanding issues.

Burma

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the use of Swedish-made weapons against ethnic minorities in Kachin State, Burma.

Hugo Swire: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 552W, to the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth).

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on whether draft laws in Burma which are being drafted with the assistance of the Government are being treated as state secrets by the Government of Burma; and what the reasons are for such a practice.

Hugo Swire: While Burmese laws in the initial drafting stages may not be publicly available, we have not received reports that any draft legislation in Burma is being treated as state secrets by the Burmese authorities.
	We continue to support the Burmese Government in its reform agenda as the country continues its transition to democracy. This includes an offer to provide technical assistance on drafting new legislation building on the UK-Burmese parliamentary exchanges that have already taken place.

Burma

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Government has relating to the involvement of the (a) Arakan Liberation Party and (b) Rakhine National Development Party in inciting, organising and carrying out attacks against ethnic Rohingya in Burma.

Hugo Swire: A number of reports have circulated in the media about who may have been behind the violence targeting Rohingya communities in Burma including, but not limited to, these two groups.
	Further independent investigative work to fully establish the facts would be required for an informed assessment if serious crimes have been committed including inciting, organising or carrying out attacks, those who have perpetrated them must be held accountable for their actions. This should be done through a clear and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards, as we have repeatedly made clear to the Burmese Government.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the deployment of the new Intervention Brigade in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and what discussions he has held with the (a) UN Secretary-General and (b) UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region on this matter.

Mark Simmonds: The Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), under the same mandate as the rest of MONUSCO (UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo) is in the process of deploying to the region. The UK fully supports the work of the whole of MONUSCO. We remain confident that MONUSCO's presence, and that of the FIB within it, contributes positively to peace and security in eastern DRC. We will continue to monitor the situation, and MONUSCO's operations, through the UN Security Council and our representatives in the DRC. I and my officials have been in contact with Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, on a number of occasions, in the UK and in the region, to discuss the situation in eastern DRC and to assure her of the UK's full support for her work.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region and (b) his foreign counterparts on the implementation of the peace, security and cooperation framework for Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mark Simmonds: I welcome and support the appointment of Mary Robinson as the UN Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region. I met her in May to discuss the Peace, Security and Co-operation Framework for the Great Lakes (PSCF) and since then senior officials have continued to engage with her regularly. We are working closely with her and partners in the region on supporting the implementation of the PSCF.
	The UK continues to have regular discussions on the PSCF with a range of key international partners, on the ground in Kigali, Kinshasa and Kampala, as well as at the UN, the African Union, the EU and elsewhere.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework.

Mark Simmonds: I remain deeply concerned about the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the continued reports of violence there.
	The first meeting of the regional oversight body of the Peace, Security and Co-operation Framework (PSCF) was chaired by the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon at the end of May. I welcome the progress made so far by the DRC in starting to develop its reform plans. The UK continues to press all signatories to work together to implement their PSCF commitments in full. This is an important step towards building lasting peace and prosperity in the region.

Dominican Republic

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of British citizens residing permanently in the Dominican Republic.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) estimates that approximately 300 British citizens reside permanently in the Dominican Republic. However, British citizens are not obliged to register with the embassy, so the actual figure is unknown.

Dominican Republic

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of judicial processes in the Dominican Republic; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The Dominican Republic justice system has a broad legal base and working judicial institutions. The British Government has faith in the political will and competence of the senior officials responsible for the Dominican justice system, namely the Attorney General and the President of the Supreme Court. As with many of our international partners, and as part of our efforts toward building global prosperity and security, the British Government has an open and frank dialogue with the Government of the Dominican Republic on issues related to the justice system, including the need to improve efficiency, increase transparency and tackle corruption.

Dominican Republic

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times the Government has intervened to make representations on behalf of British citizens detained in the Dominican Republic in the last 10 years.

Hugo Swire: In the last 10 years, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has made a number of representations on behalf of two British citizens detained in the Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are currently detained following conviction in the Dominican Republic; and what the average length of sentence is.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is aware of 12 British citizens currently detained in the Dominican Republic following conviction. The length of sentence varies from six to 15 years. There are a further two British citizens who have been released on bail.

Dominican Republic

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are currently detained awaiting trial in the Dominican Republic.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is aware of one British citizen currently detained and awaiting trial in the Dominican Republic.

G8: County Fermanagh

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the compliance commitments made in the June 2013 G8 Summit communiqué will be monitored.

Hugo Swire: We are fully committed to monitoring the implementation of all the commitments made at Lough Erne, and plan to discuss with our G8 colleagues how to achieve this. Since 2010, the G8 has monitored its development commitments through an annual accountability exercise. The Lough Erne development commitments will be monitored through this process. The 2013 Lough Erne Accountability Report was published on 7 June. A copy can be found in the Library and at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lough-erne-accountability-report

G8: County Fermanagh

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what official souvenirs were given to attendees at the conclusion of the G8 Summit at Lough Erne; and what the cost of those souvenirs was.

Mark Simmonds: Gifts from the host to Leaders and other attendees are a traditional part of the G8 summit.
	The Government took the opportunity to promote UK businesses—small and large—to international audiences. This included a number of items produced in close proximity to the summit venue, showcasing local Northern Irish talent. The majority of gifts were provided free of charge by the companies involved.
	Leaders' gifts included a Mulberry overnight bag, a bottle of 12-year-old Bushmills whiskey, a copy of the ‘Scenic Ireland, Ulster’ book, a personalised leather journal, a wash bag with an image of the Giant's Causeway, a selection of Space NK products, a CD of the best selling British album in each G8 country, a USB stick of up-and-coming British artists, a Co Couture box of chocolates and a Phil Shaw print. These were all provided free of charge.
	In addition, the Leaders received a wooden pen at a cost of £15 each and a wooden photo frame at a cost of £90.

Gambia

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of The Gambia between June 2011 and September 2012 on the imprisonment of Dr Amadou Janneh.

Mark Simmonds: Our high commissioner in Banjul regularly raises human rights concerns with the Government of The Gambia, both bilaterally as UK representative and in a second capacity as acting local Presidency of the European Union (EU).
	During the trial and subsequent imprisonment of Dr Janneh—who holds dual US and Gambian citizenship—our high commissioner remained in close contact with the US embassy in Banjul in their discussions with the Gambian Government and the US's monitoring of Dr Janneh's welfare.

Kenya

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Kenya in relation to seeking a resolution over Kenyan public sector pensions.

Mark Simmonds: In recent years we have raised this issue with Kenyan Government officials on a number of occasions, including three times in 2013. British high commission staff in Nairobi asked the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs about public sector pensions on 2 July 2013 and are awaiting a response.

Palestinians

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Palestinian Authority about reports that PA TV has broadcast a video calling on Palestinians to raise flags over all Israeli cities and villages.

Alistair Burt: Recent reports have concluded that both parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict need to do more to promote a positive portrayal of each other, reflecting the principles of co-existence, tolerance, justice and human dignity. The UK regularly condemns incitement and registers our concerns with both sides. The British Consul General in Jerusalem called on the Palestinian Authority to avoid incitement in a speech addressed to the then Prime Minister Hamdallah on 19 June.
	While we have raised previous concerns with Palestinian TV, we have not raised this specific allegation. Palestine TV is not an official station of the Palestinian Authority (PA). But it is subject to official directives that make clear that it must avoid any programme content that endorses or propagates violence. We do not believe that the reports in question bring into question the PA's commitment to a two state solution and its often repeated recognition of the state of Israel.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

David Lidington: The Foreign Office has over 200 official Twitter accounts. This includes accounts such as @foreignoffice, @FCOTravel, @FCOHumanRights and @FCOCareers, policy-specific accounts such as @LondonCyber for the International Cyber Policy Unit and accounts run by ambassadors and other senior diplomats, including the Permanent Under-Secretary, and our missions overseas. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), (@WilliamJHague), the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi), the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) (@HugoSwire), the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), (@AlistairBurtFCO), the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) (@MarkJSimmonds) and I (@DLidington) are on Twitter. These accounts are managed in a variety of ways, with officials monitoring them and contributing to the publication of official government content. A full list is available on our website at:
	http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/digitaldiplomacy/platforms/

South Sudan

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the upcoming expiry of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan's mandate in that country; and what representations he has made regarding its renewal.

Mark Simmonds: The Secretary-General issued his latest report on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to the Security Council on 20 June. The report sets out the difficulties South Sudan continues to face two years after independence; the challenging security and financial environment in which the mission has to operate; and recommends that the mission's mandate is extended for another year, from 15 July. We agree that the mandate should be extended. We are at present discussing the mandate renewal in the UN Security Council, where we will be arguing for the UNMISS to focus on the highest priority security and peacebuilding challenges, in particular the protection of civilians.

South Sudan

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of peacekeepers deployed to South Sudan by China.

Mark Simmonds: We welcome the Chinese contribution to UNMISS. The UN Mission in South Sudan has a contingent of 351 Chinese peacekeepers. 338 of them are based in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State where 275 are engineers and 63 support a medical facility. The remaining 13 are military liaison and staff officers in the United Nations Mission in Southern Sudan (UNMISS) headquarters in Juba.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Action Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual operating budget of Action Fraud is.

James Brokenshire: For the last financial year, 2012-13, Action Fraud had an operating budget of £1,904,000. Additional one-off costs were incurred in 2012-13 as part of the roll-out of the service nationwide. These covered an uplift in staff and associated training and communication products.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders were issued (a) nationally and (b) in Peterborough constituency in each of the last five years; and what the rate of breach of anti-social behaviour orders was (i) nationally and (ii) in Peterborough constituency in each such year.

Jeremy Browne: The number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued by all courts in England and Wales in each year between 2007 and 2011 (the latest year for which data are currently available) can be viewed in the table. However, information available centrally does not allow a breakdown of orders or breaches by parliamentary constituency area.
	Of all the ASBOs issued in England and Wales between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2011, a total of 57.3 % were breached at least once. ASBOs can be breached more than once and in more than one year. As a result, ASBO breach rates are computed by considering the total number of ASBOs issued in a particular geographical area over a period of time and the total number of such orders which have been breached at least once over the same period of time. For this reason it is not possible to accurately calculate the breach rate for the specific years in question.
	ASBO data covering 2012 are provisionally planned for publication in October 2013.
	
		
			 Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts(1) in England and Wales, as reported to the Ministry of Justice(2) by the Court Service, 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011 
			 Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 England and Wales 2,299 2,027 1,671 1,664 1,414 
			 (1) Includes ASBOs issued on application by magistrates courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts, which became available on 1 April 1999 and ASBOs made following conviction for a relevant criminal offence at the Crown court and at magistrates courts (acting in their criminal capacity), which became available on 2 December 2002. (2) Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, numbers of ASBOs issued were reported to Home Office by the Court Service. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Prepared by Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice

Asylum

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 595-6W, on asylum, if she will provide the relevant statistics for the cases concluded in six months key performance indicator in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Mark Harper: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 18 June 2013, Official Report, columns 595-6W. This provided statistics relating to the key performance indicators in financial year 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	During 2010-11 there were 9,216 cases concluded in six months, and in 2011-12 there were 9,919. Performance for financial year 2012-13 will be published in August.
	Further detail can be found through the following statistical release:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/further-key-data/asylum-performance1.xls?view=Binary

Crime: Large Goods Vehicles

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) thefts and (b) other offences against heavy goods vehicles which were parked or left unattended on public roads were reported to police in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The information requested is not available from the police recorded crime data collected by the Home Office. Offences against heavy goods vehicles cannot be separately identified from offences committed against other vehicles.

Crime: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many offences of (a) crime related to vehicles, (b) burglary of a dwelling, (c) other burglary, (d) criminal damage, (e) theft, (f) violence and (g) other crimes were committed in York in each year since 2004-05;
	(2)  how many crimes were reported to the police in York in each year since 2004-05.

Damian Green: The available information relates to crimes recorded by the police in the York Community Safety Partnership area and is given in the table.
	
		
			 Offences recorded by the police in the York Community Safety Partnership area 
			 Number of offences 
			  Total recorded crime Vehicle crime Burglary in a dwelling Other burglary Criminal damage Other theft offences(1) Violence against the person Other offences(2) 
			 2004-05 23,080 3,224 1,117 1,596 4,602 6,176 4,000 2,365 
			 2005-06 22,784 3,841 1,081 1,702 4,358 6,028 3,810 1,964 
			 2006-07 20,935 3,556 1,065 1,577 4,157 5,552 3,285 1,743 
			 2007-08 18,901 2,498 975 1,343 3,655 5,384 3,188 1,858 
			 2008-09 17,886 2,392 1,113 1,272 3,640 5,244 2,711 1,514 
			 2009-10 14,480 1,276 691 1,115 2,790 4,774 2,415 1,419 
			 2010-11 15,199 1,254 753 1,327 2,477 5,229 2,499 1,660 
			 2011-12 13,576 1,172 671 1,236 2,078 4,642 2,384 1,393 
			 (1 )Excluding vehicle thefts. (2) Offence groups of sexual offences, robbery, drug offences, fraud and forgery and other miscellaneous offences.

Detection Rates: North Yorkshire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the crime detection rate was for North Yorkshire police force in each year since 2004-05.

Damian Green: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Detection rates for offences recorded by the police in North Yorkshire 
			  Overall detection rate (percentage) 
			 2004-05 35 
			 2005-06 35 
			 2006-07 33 
			 2007-08(1) 33 
			 2008-09 31 
			 2009-10 31 
			 2010-11 31 
			 2011-12 32 
			 (1) From 1 April 2007, new rules governing non-sanction detections significantly limited the occasions for which such administrative disposals can be applied.

Drugs: Crime

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the psychoactive substance Benzo Fury or any of its component substances were first identified by her Department's forensic early warning system.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 5 July 2013
	“Benzo Fury” is the trade name usually associated with the psychoactive substances 5- and 6-APB. The Home Office Forensic Early Warning System first identified 5- and 6-APB in early 2011.
	Together with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we kept the health harms of these compounds under review. 5- and 6-APB, and a further four substances from the "benzofuran" family of drugs, including their simple derivatives are controlled under the temporary order approved by both Houses following the Advisory Council's advice that the latest evidence warranted legislative action.

English Language: Overseas Students

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether UK citizens taking foreign national young people into their homes for the purpose of learning English at the request of a foreign-based agency are liable for the same Disclosure and Barring Service checks as if they were taking the same foreign young people at the request of a UK-based agency.

James Brokenshire: Legislation provides eligibility for criminal record checks for those working with children, including those hosting children visiting from abroad. Companies abroad are entitled to apply for criminal records checks in the same way as companies in the United Kingdom, provided they apply through an office or agency in this country.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will establish a high-level working group on business visas.

Mark Harper: The Home Office has regular engagement with business users and has mechanisms in place to receive customer feedback. This feedback is used to refine processes and requirements to improve the business visa customer experience while maintaining immigration controls. I am satisfied that these arrangements are delivering improvements and therefore do not propose to set up a high-level working group specifically for business visas.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the content and length of business visa application forms.

Mark Harper: We are working to improve the online application process for all visa application categories—including business visit visa applications—to make it a more intuitive and customer friendly process. The improved system should be ready for implementation in the autumn. All applications will be made online and system improvements are under way to make the application process easier and more user-friendly.

Financial Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department is investigating any unregulated funds similar to the Connaught Income Fund; and what details she can provide on those funds.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own.
	The FCA is responsible for undertaking investigations of this nature. We have referred the question to them and they will be writing in due course.

Human Trafficking

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many closure orders restricting access to premises linked to the exploitation or prostitution of trafficked women have been (a) applied for and (b) obtained from the courts by (i) the Metropolitan police and (ii) other police forces in the last three years; how many of these have been enforced; what assessment she has made of the amount of statistical data available; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: This information is not held centrally, and therefore no assessment has been made.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) nail bars and (b) cannabis factories have been investigated by the police in relation to human trafficking in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: holding answer 8 July 2013
	These data are not collected centrally. Investigations involving nail bars and cannabis factories may arise as a result of suspicion of a number of different crimes, including human trafficking.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) current and (b) former members of the police service (i) currently serve and (ii) served between 2005 and 2012, on the Independent Police Complaints Commission, by police force area; in what capacity they served; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) does not employ serving members of the police and Commissioners are prohibited by law from ever having served in the police.
	The Home Office does not collect data on the numbers of former members of the police who work for the IPCC, however, the IPCC does publish data on the numbers of former members of the police who work for them in their annual reports going back to 2010. These can be found on their website at:
	www.ipcc.gov.uk
	The most recent data for 2011-12 shows that approximately 80% of IPCC staff come from non-policing backgrounds.
	
		
			 Job title Count Ex-police officer Ex-police civilian 
			 Investigator 79 (1)19 9 
			 Deputy Senior Investigator 20 (2)8 1 
			 Senior Investigator 9 (3)8 1 
			 Casework 116 1 6 
			 Other 147 6 19 
		
	
	
		
			 Total staff 371 42 36 
			 (1) One Investigator has previously worked as both a police officer and police civilian. (2) One Deputy Senior Investigator has previously worked as both a police officer and police civilian. (3) One Senior Investigator has previously worked as both a police officer and police civilian.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research she has commissioned into the level of public confidence in the Independent Police Complaints Commission since May 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Home Office has not commissioned research into the level of public confidence in the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) since May 2010.
	The IPCC regularly commissions public confidence surveys which can be found on their website at:
	www.ipcc.gov.uk
	The last survey, in 2011, showed that 69 % of people felt that the IPCC would handle complaints against the police impartially.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resource funding she plans to allocate to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Home Office funding for the Independent Police Complaints Commission totals £39 million in 2013-14.
	Budget allocations for 2014-15 have yet to be determined.

Licensed Premises

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much income has been generated by the (a) Late Night Levy and (b) Early Morning Restriction Order to date; and whether she expects the income generated from these two powers to match projections in the Government's impact assessment in the first and second years of operation.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 5 July 2013
	No licensing authority has yet introduced the late night levy, therefore no income has been generated. It is likely that the income generated will be less than that set out in the published impact assessment. The early morning alcohol restriction order is not a measure intended to generate income.

Licensed Premises

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to begin consultations on the introduction of full-cost recovery for licence applications under the Licensing Act 2003; and by what date she expects to have implemented full-cost recovery for licence applications.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 5 July 2013
	The Government has introduced, through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, a power for the Home Secretary to prescribe in regulations that alcohol licensing fees are set locally on a cost-recovery basis.
	As set out in the Home Office Business Plan 2013-2015, published on 26 June 2013, we intend to introduce regulations in June 2014, after consulting on the proposals.

Members: Correspondence

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw on Enid Taylor-Rusthworth sent on 22 March 2013.

Mark Harper: The Interim Director General of UK Visas and Immigration replied to the hon. Member on 8 July 2013.

National Ballistics Intelligence Service

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many referrals were made by each police force in England and Wales to the National Ballistics Intelligence Service in each year since 2008.

Damian Green: holding answer 24 June 2013
	The National Ballistics Intelligence Service has provided the information they hold about the total number of referrals made by police forces since 2009-10. This information is set out in the following table. There is no meaningful data available prior to this date.
	
		
			 Submission to NABIS in accordance with the memorandum of understanding 
			 Force 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Total 
			 Beds and Herts(1) 15 66 30 21 132 
			 Essex 5 29 16 16 66 
			 Hampshire 19 27 23 14 83 
			 Kent 5 22 14 12 53 
			 London Met 1,366 1,353 1,143 901 4,763 
			 London City 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 9 14 12 7 42 
			 Sussex 14 9 7 16 46 
			 Thames Valley 7 50 76 35 168 
			 Avon and Somerset 19 15 60 33 127 
			 Cambridgeshire 5 13 5 11 34 
			 Derbyshire 27 22 16 19 84 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9 12 5 5 31 
			 Dorset 32 15 2 2 51 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 10 4 2 18 
			 Gloucestershire 4 31 14 9 58 
			 Gwent 5 6 3 3 17 
			 Leicestershire 29 15 8 19 71 
			 Lincolnshire 1 4 8 8 21 
			 Norfolk 10 7 26 21 64 
			 Northamptonshire 27 11 16 12 66 
			 Nottinghamshire 34 50 28 27 139 
			 South Wales 58 16 16 14 104 
			 Staffordshire 12 15 7 3 37 
			 Suffolk 39 51 30 27 147 
			 Warwickshire 4 6 5 3 18 
			 West Mercia 19 15 20 18 72 
			 West Midlands 163 175 162 90 590 
			 Wiltshire 1 6 41 7 55 
			 Cheshire 12 12 11 14 49 
			 Cleveland 5 9 1 10 25 
			 Cumbria 3 25 3 7 38 
			 Durham 7 4 11 11 33 
		
	
	
		
			 Greater Manchester 206 162 149 131 648 
			 Humberside 3 5 5 3 16 
			 Lancashire 30 32 24 19 105 
			 Merseyside 176 184 176 287 823 
			 North Wales 17 12 13 1 43 
			 North Yorkshire 5 6 4 2 17 
			 Northumbria 20 38 22 38 118 
			 South Yorkshire 28 20 36 32 116 
			 West Yorkshire 66 75 98 101 340 
			 Total 2,518 2,649 2,350 2,011 9,528 
			 (1) Due to a collaboration between the forces, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire's data was previously combined. In 2012-13 NABIS started collecting separate data for the two forces for individual force reports. In 2012-13 Bedfordshire made 13 submissions and Hertfordshire eight, but we do not have separate data for previous years.

North Yorkshire Police

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much core police funding her Department has allocated to the North Yorkshire Police Authority in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 1995-96;
	(2)  what the total amount of police grant allocated by her Department to North Yorkshire Police Force was in each year since 2005 in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms.

Damian Green: The following table shows the amount of core Government revenue funding provided by the Home Office, to the North Yorkshire Police Authority (from November 2012 the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire) in 1995-96 and the subsequent years.
	
		
			 Core revenue HO funding 
			 £ million 
			  Cash Real (2012-13 base year) 
			 1995-96 33.1 46.5 
			 1996-97 35.0 48.2 
			 1997-98 35.8 49.9 
			 1998-99 38.8 53.0 
			 1999-2000 38.9 52.1 
			 2000-01 41.3 54.9 
			 2001-02 45.1 58.5 
			 2002-03 46.2 58.4 
			 2003-04 50.1 62.2 
			 2004-05 51.6 62.3 
			 2005-06 53.9 63.9 
			 2006-07 48.8 56.3 
			 2007-08 50.6 56.9 
			 2008-09 52.0 56.9 
			 2009-10 53.4 56.9 
			 2010-11 53.8 55.8 
			 2011-12 50.3 51.1 
			 2012-13 47.3 47.3 
			 2013-14 (1)75.9 74.1 
			 (1) Includes £29.6 million in formula grant funding which in previous years had been paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government but from 2013-14 onwards is being paid by the Home Office. 
		
	
	Real figures are calculated using the latest GDP deflators. These are updated and published regularly by Her Majesty's Treasury and therefore can change the way that the real figures in the table are represented.
	The figures in the table represent the amount of revenue funding provided by the Home Office to North Yorkshire. However, due to changes in police revenue funding over this time period which include a move away from Regional Crime Squads (RCS) and a change in the way pensions are funded, it is difficult to compare spending power between years.
	In addition, the police also receive central Government grant from other sources including the Department from Communities and Local Government and the Welsh Government in Wales. They also receive funding from the police precept component of council tax and a small amount of income from charging for additional services.

North Yorkshire Police

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police officers of each rank and grade were employed by North Yorkshire Police on 31 March and 30 September in each year since 2004;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers and (c) police civilian staff were employed by North Yorkshire Police on 31 March and 30 September in each year since 2004.

Damian Green: The number of police officers (by rank), police community support officers (PCSOs) and police staff (full-time equivalent) employed by North Yorkshire police on 31 March and 30 September in each year from 2004 to 2012 have been provided in the tables.
	Figures for total numbers of officers, PCSOs and staff are published twice a year within the 'Police Service Strength, England and Wales' bulletins (to be retitled 'Police Workforce, England and Wales' from the 31 March 2013 statistical release, to be published on 18 July 2013). However, figures for police officers by rank are published only for 31 March, and those relating to 30 September should be treated as provisional.
	
		
			 Police officers (by rank), police community support officers and police staff employed by North Yorkshire police on 31 March and 30 September in each year from 2004-12(1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			 Number 
			  ACPO Chief superintendent Superintendent Chief inspectors Inspectors 
			 2004      
			 31 March 4 8 15 15 76 
			 30 September 4 6 14 14 71 
			       
			 2005      
			 31 March 4 7 14 17 77 
			 30 September 4 7 15 17 77 
			       
			 2006      
			 31 March 4 7 15 22 88 
			 30 September 4 9 13 18 91 
			       
			 2007      
			 31 March 3 6 16 15 87 
			 30 September 4 5 17 11 99 
			       
			 2008      
			 31 March 4 6 12 12 85 
			 30 September 3 6 11 14 85 
			       
			 2009      
			 31 March 4 6 10 16 83 
			 30 September 3 6 12 18 85 
			       
			 2010      
			 31 March 4 5 10 16 83 
			 30 September 4 4 10 16 85 
			       
			 2011      
			 31 March 3 6 10 18 76 
			 30 September 3 6 10 17 72 
			       
			 2012      
			 31 March 3 4 14 17 73 
			 30 September 3 4 10 18 73 
		
	
	
		
			 Number 
			  Sergeants Constables Total police officers Police community support officers Police staff 
			 2004      
			 31 March 241 1,175 1,534 52 864 
			 30 September 264 1,174 1,547 46 905 
			       
			 2005      
			 31 March 246 1,195 1,561 75 928 
			 30 September 260 1,196 1,576 69 962 
			       
			 2006      
			 31 March 271 1,246 1,653 71 1,039 
			 30 September 292 1,227 1,654 85 1,090 
			       
			 2007      
			 31 March 283 1,260 1,671 147 1,128 
			 30 September 307 1,180 1,623 186 1,131 
			       
			 2008      
			 31 March 284 1,178 1,581 180 1,079 
			 30 September 278 1,118 1,515 178 1,070 
			       
			 2009      
			 31 March 269 1,072 1,460 173 1,095 
			 30 September 262 1,083 1,468 185 1,138 
			       
			 2010      
			 31 March 250 1,118 1,486 198 1,158 
			 30 September 207 1,126 1,452 187 1,153 
			       
			 2011      
			 31 March 241 1,104 1,458 182 1,048 
			 30 September 236 1,089 1,432 179 918 
			       
			 2012      
			 31 March 230 1,061 1,402 186 919 
			 30 September 238 1,049 1,394 179 913 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent (FTE) figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Source: Home Office using data received from police forces via the Annual Data Requirement. (3) These figures are regularly published, twice a year, within the ‘Police Service Strength, England and Wales’ bulletins (to be retitled ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ from the 31 March 2013 issue, to be published on 18 July 2013). (4) Figures for police officers by rank as at 30 September are not regularly published and should be treated as provisional. (5) When comparing a time series of data it is normal to compare with a year earlier, to avoid the effect of seasonal variation.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much the Independent Police Complaints Commission spent on investigating complaints into the actions of each police force in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average cost of Independent Police Complaints Commission investigations is; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many police officers of each (a) rank and (b) police force have been reprimanded as a result of Independent Police Complaints Commission investigations prompted by complaints in each of the last three years for which information is available;
	(4)  how many full-time equivalent staff are expected to be employed in each Directorate of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2013-14; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  how many staff the Independent Police Complaints Commission employed at each (a) grade and (b) location in each year since 2004-05;
	(6)  how many cases were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the Independent Police Complaints Commission by police force area in each year since 2005.

Damian Green: This information is not held centrally. The Independent Police Complaints Commission will write to my hon. Friend about the information requested.

Police: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers there were in Northamptonshire police force area in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013.

Damian Green: The number of police officers and police community support officers (full-time equivalent) in Northamptonshire police force area, on 31 March and 30 September, 2010 to 2012, have been provided in the table. Figures for 2013 are not yet available.
	These figures are published twice a year within the 'Police Service Strength, England and Wales' bulletins (to be retitled 'Police Workforce, England and Wales' from the 31 March 2013 statistical release, to be published on 18 July 2013).
	
		
			 Police officers and police community support officers in Northamptonshire police force area on 31 March and 30 September 2010-12(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			 Number 
			  Police officers Police community support officers 
			 2010   
			 31 March 1,343 164 
			 30 September 1,337 168 
			    
			 2011   
			 31 March 1,306 166 
			 30 September 1,262 163 
			    
			 2012   
			 31 March 1,234 161 
			 30 September 1,220 149 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent (FTE) figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Source: Home Office using data received from police forces via the Annual Data Requirement. (3) These figures are regularly published, twice a year, within the 'Police Service Strength, England and Wales' bulletins (to be retitled Police Workforce, England and Wales' from the 31 March 2013 issue, to be published on 18 July 2013.). (4) When comparing a time series of data it is normal to compare with a year earlier, to avoid the effect of seasonal variation.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of her Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has one Twitter account that it has responsibility for monitoring and updating:
	@ukhomeoffice

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vending machines in her Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 8 July 2013
	Vending machines provided in Home Office buildings offer a variety of drinks and sweets that have varying relative degrees of nutritional value and calorific content. Their procurement is carried out locally either directly by calling off from central contracts or indirectly within contracts for other accommodation services. Records of each vending machine are not held centrally.

Vetting

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure that organisations are able to carry out Disclosure and Barring Service checks for staff and volunteers working with vulnerable adults who are not in sheltered housing or receiving health care.

James Brokenshire: Disclosure and barring checks are available for a range of activities which involve working with adults. The eligibility for standard checks is set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 and the eligibility for enhanced checks is set out in regulations made under the Police Act 1997 which have recently been amended by the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (SI. 1194/2013). The range of activities eligible for checks includes work with people receiving healthcare, social care and work in other settings, for example in prisons. It also includes driving adults in certain circumstances, formal assistance with the conduct of an adult's own affairs and assistance with cash, bills or shopping if the adult requires that assistance because of their age, illness or disability.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what comparative assessment his Department has made of the amount of air passenger duty paid by (a) British companies, (b) French companies, (c) German companies, (d) companies in the Netherlands and (e) companies in the Republic of Ireland;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, The economic impact of air passenger duty, published February 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will publish his Department's assessment of the effects of current levels of air passenger duty on UK businesses' use of air transport and their ability to export;
	(4)  how many representations he has received from overseas residents regarding air passenger duty in 2012.

David Gauke: Air passenger duty (APD) is paid by airlines rather than passengers, although airlines usually pass the cost of the tax on in ticket prices. For the purposes of administering the tax, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not require and does not collect information on the final purchasers of tickets, and so it is not possible to identify the amount of APD paid by companies resident in different countries. While HMRC does hold data on the amount of APD paid by airlines, it is not possible to provide breakdowns of this information by country due to taxpayer confidentiality.
	The Government believes that APD is a relatively efficient and non-regressive tax, and that abolishing it would have a small impact on GDP and cause a net loss of overall tax receipts.
	The Government has limited the rise in APD to inflation over the period from 2010-11 to 2013-14. Furthermore, Budget 2013 set out rates from April 2014, which will also only rise in line with inflation, ensuring that the level of APD will remain constant in real terms. However, the Chancellor keeps all taxes under review and considers their effects in the round.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and receive representations from a wide variety of individuals and authorities as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Our records are not broken down to allow the number of communications specifically from overseas residents to be determined.

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many apprentices are currently employed by his Department; and how many such apprentices are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) more than 60 years old.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury is actively supporting the Government apprentice scheme, and currently has seven apprentices. All seven apprentices are aged 19 to 25. HM Treasury has no apprentices in the other age ranges.

Business Travel: Aviation

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the effects on economic activity of an increase in business use of air travel;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the link between increased business air travel and increased exports by UK businesses.

David Gauke: The Government's strategy of deficit reduction, monetary activism and supply-side reform is designed to protect the economy and lay the foundations for stronger, more balanced growth. There are encouraging signs that the economy is healing. GDP grew by 0.3% in the first quarter.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts. The OBR's forecasts take account of the effect of Government policy and predict the economy will grow by 0.6 in 2013 and continue to grow in every year of the forecast.

European Investment Bank

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the statement of 2 July 2013, Official Report, column 753, on EU, in which ways the additional funding coming to the UK as a result of the decision to increase the EU Investment Bank's lending will be used to reduce youth unemployment; and what the timescale is for doing so.

Greg Clark: The additional lending the European Investment Bank will be undertaking in 2013-15, financed by increasing its capital, is being channelled through a "Growth and Employment Facility". This focuses on the following areas: Innovation and Skills; EU Resource Efficiency; EU Access to Finance and EU Strategic Infrastructure. Individual projects impacting on youth unemployment will be assessed on their merits.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether savings covered by the terms and limits of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme are protected against (a) ad hoc restrictions of access, (b) bank bail-ins and (c) other forms of expropriation or forced conversion.

Greg Clark: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides protection for deposits up to £85,000 per depositor, per authorised institution.

Revenue and Customs: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed at Rhyl Tax Office.

David Gauke: HMRC has an enquiry centre in Rhyl which employs three staff.

SITA Trust

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the Sita Trust report, Sita Trust's Funds Held, submitted in response to his Department's Funds Held challenge.

Sajid Javid: The Government welcomes the efforts of SITA Trust in addressing the challenge of reducing ‘unspent’ funds within the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF).
	At Budget 2011 and Budget 2012, the Government set a challenge to environmental bodies to reduce the accumulation of unspent funds by 25% to ensure funds benefit local communities more rapidly. The time frame for achieving this target was extended at Budget 2013 to March 2014.
	It is ENTRUST, the fund regulator, that monitor environmental bodies’ efforts to meet the challenge and update Government on their progress. Government will provide a response to environmental bodies’ efforts to address the challenge at Budget 2014.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the distributional consequences were of payments of pension tax relief in respect of persons on (a) the basic rate of income tax, (b) the higher rate of income tax and (c) the supplementary rate of income tax, by income decile of the population, in each of the last four financial years;
	(2)  what the payments were of pension tax relief in respect of persons on (a) the basic rate of income tax, (b) the higher rate of income tax and (c) the supplementary rate of income tax in each of the last four financial years; and what levels of those payments accrued to individuals as categorised by income decile of the population.

David Gauke: Estimates of the number of people receiving income tax deductions for their pension contributions and the value of deductions by different income bands in 2010-11 can be found in Table 3.8 on the HMRC website at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/income-by-year/table3-8.pdf
	Estimates for previous years can be found in the national archives:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121102223513/http://hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu-by-year.htm
	Estimates for future years will be published at scheduled release dates.

Tiuta

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 406W, on Financial Services, which activities of Tiuta plc fell under the supervision of the Financial Services Authority.

David Gauke: Tiuta plc’s specific permissions are listed at the following link on the Financial Services Register. These permissions relate to the arranging/administering of regulated mortgage contracts since 7 April 2006.
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmPermissions.do?sid=150520

Tonnage Tax

Karl Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs undertakes regular assessments to ensure that the Tonnage Tax scheme is not used to avoid tax.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs are committed to tackling tax avoidance. Officials undertake an annual risk assessment of tonnage tax companies to identify any tax risks or attempted avoidance and actively monitor the regime throughout the tax year. It is a condition of remaining within tonnage tax that a company is not a party to any transaction or arrangement that is an abuse of the regime and tonnage tax will be subject to the forthcoming General Anti-Abuse Rule.

Youth Work

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding his Department allocated for youth work in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Department has not allocated any funding for youth work in any of the financial years in your request.
	Although the Treasury has not directly allocated any amount in relation to youth work, other Government Departments may have allocated funds as part of their settlements set by HM Treasury in the spending review 2010.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Government Assistance

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the reasons are for the abolition of the UK Advisory Network; and whether he has any plans to offer a replacement or alternative to the businesses that used it.

Michael Fallon: The UK Advisory Network (UKAN) has not been abolished. UKAN was initially conceived to support inward investment, then broadened to include a trade offer. In October 2012, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, launched ‘Open to Export’, an online business community designed to bring best-practice knowledge and bespoke advice to UK exporters:
	www.OpenToExport.com
	On this basis UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) decided to close the Trade and Overseas Support Directories of UKAN and return it to a solely inward investor support facility. UKTI notified UKAN members in advance of the closure and suggested they consider ‘Open to Export’ as a means to offer their trade support services.

Construction

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to Annex B of his Department's publication, Construction 2025, published on 2 July 2013, what steps he plans to take to fully commit to the existing Building Information Modelling programme to create a critical mass; and what criteria he will use to recognise a critical mass.

Michael Fallon: Government has fully committed to mandating the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on all centrally funded projects by 2016. The collaborative Government/industry BIM Task Group, co-ordinated by the Construction Industry Council, is leading the implementation strategy. The BIM Task Group has established a number of work streams to support the roll-out of BIM across the industry sector and further information on these activities can be found at:
	www.bimtaskgroup.org
	This approach will ensure the programme achieves critical mass.
	It is our expectation that the savings and other benefits materialising from the BIM Task Group ‘Early Adopter Programme’ will encourage a significant number of private sector clients to make use of the freely shared processes and documents to add to this critical mass. Recently, Government and industry jointly won the international Fiatech ‘James B. Porter, Jr. Award for Technology Leadership’ award for their collaboration and achievements in the BIM programme.

Degrees

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the London Economics report entitled the outcomes associated with the BTEC route of degree level acquisition.

Matthew Hancock: I note this report, which highlights the value of qualifications for getting people into university and then their future employment prospects. We will evaluate the report's findings in the context of our commitment to develop high quality technical education.

EU Grants and Loans: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has held with the European Commission on the allocation of transitional funding for Liverpool for the period from 2014 to 2020.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not held discussions with the European Commission on the allocation of the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. Officials have met with the European Commission to discuss the overall methodology for distributing these funds across the UK prior to the 27 June 2013 announcement.

Galileo System

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the cost (a) in total and (b) to the UK of the EU's Galileo satellite programme; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 629W, regarding the cost of the Galileo and EGNOS satellite navigation programmes.
	The European Council agreement reached in February reduced the budget for the programmes from the €7 billion proposed by the European Commission to €6.3 billion (2011 prices). The Commission is now working to align the programme to this reduced budget and they have confirmed that the objectives set out in the new EU regulation for the programmes for 2014-20 can still be delivered.
	The European Parliament still needs to give its consent to the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

Post Offices: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people are employed at Rhyl Crown Post Office.

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for operational matters concerning the Post Office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Regional Growth Fund: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Regional Growth Fund has spent in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) City of York in (i) cash and (ii) real terms in each year since that fund was created.

Michael Fallon: The following table shows how much the Regional Growth Fund has spent in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in each financial year and the value of the payments in 2011-12 at current prices (adjusted for inflation).
	The figures for 2013-14 are to end June 2013.
	
		
			  2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 
			 Cash (£ million) 31.80 17.26 2.04 
			 Real (adjusted for inflation) 32.28 17.26 — 
		
	
	There are currently no projects solely aimed at providing funding within the city of York. However companies in the city of York and the Yorkshire and Humber area are able to benefit from a number of Regional Growth Fund programmes that operate nationally.

Royal Mail

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guarantees and safeguards he has put in place to protect the pensions scheme of (a) past workers and (b) present workers at Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: On 1 April 2012 the Government relieved Royal Mail of its historic pension deficit of approximately £12 billion by transferring pension benefits accrued up to that date to a new Government pension scheme. This new Government pension scheme was established under Part 2 of the Postal Services Act 2011 and is known as the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS).
	The Act included a number of protections in relation to the RMSPS. This included a protection relating to the transfer of benefits from the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) to the RMSPS and restricting any future changes to benefits which were transferred to the RMSPS (designed to mirror the protections members’ accrued benefits enjoyed in the RMPP). For the avoidance of doubt none of the recent reforms to public sector pensions applied to the RMSPS.
	Any decision on future pensions provision for present Royal Mail employees is a matter for Royal Mail in consultation with the trustees and its employees. Royal Mail is currently consulting with employees on a proposal which would address the significant recent increase in the cost of providing defined benefit pensions to employees (which is a market wide issue). This proposal would result in a commitment by Royal Mail, subject to certain terms and conditions, to keep the RMPP open to future accrual.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b)currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

Jo Swinson: The Department is responsible for three corporate Twitter accounts:
	@bisgovuk
	@businesslinkgov
	@bispressoffice
	UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has a network of 70 Twitter channels. UKTI's main corporate Twitter channel is @UKTI. UKTI also has responsibility for the following Twitter accounts:
	@UKTI_ATF
	@UK_ICT
	@UK_AE
	@UKTI_BizRisk
	@ UKTI Springboard
	@UKTItechworld
	@UKTI_Energy
	@UKTI_Manufacturing
	@UKTI_Education
	@UKTI_Cleantech
	@UKTI_FoodDrink
	@UKTIatSXSWi
	@BritishBusinessClub
	@UKTI_SW
	@UKTIYorkshire
	@UKTILondonSE
	@UKTIEast
	@UKTITIEM
	@UKTINW
	@wm_ukti
	@UKTINorthEast
	@cwcc_export
	@UKTI_Brazil
	@UKTI_Canada
	@UKTIMexico
	@MiamiUKTI
	@UKTITechNY
	@UKTIfinservices
	@UKTIHouston
	@UKTI_CreativeLA
	@UKaeroLA
	@UKTIBoston
	@UKTI_Chicago_EE
	@UKTIUSEnergy
	@UKTIUSA
	@UKTIDC
	@UKTISFCRE8V
	@UKTINewYork
	@UKTIAtlanta
	@UKTIUS_AutoAero
	@UKTI_Chongqing
	@UKTIHongKong
	@UKTI_India
	@UKTIIndonesia
	@UKTIJapan
	@UKTI_Malaysia
	@UKTI_Singapore
	@UKTIAustralia
	@UKTINewZealand
	@UKTI_Prague
	@UKTI_Denmark
	@UKTI_de
	@UKTIEuropeanHub
	@UKTIFrance
	@UKTI_Germany
	@UKTl_Greece
	@UKTIItaly
	@UKTIIitalia
	@UKTILatvia
	@UKTI_NL
	@UKTI_Poland
	@UKTI_Turkey
	@UKTI_Nordics
	@UKTI_Barcelona
	@UKTIJordan
	@UKTINigeria
	@UKTIBeirut
	@uktilebanon
	@UKTI_UAEFinance
	Staff are encouraged to use Twitter where it is useful to their work, but responsibility for personal Twitter accounts rests with the individual. This is in accordance with the Civil Service Code.

Student Loans Company

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many overpayments were made by the Student Loans Company in error in the 2012-13 financial year. [R]

David Willetts: Data on grant and loan overpayments are held by the Student Loans Company (SLC), but are not sub-divided by the reason for each overpayment.
	Grants are paid up front to students based upon the latest information provided to SLC about individual students' circumstances. Overpayment generally occurs when the SLC receives information from a student or their higher education institution that the student's financial circumstances have changed, or that they are no longer attending their course of study, which leads to the grant amount being re-assessed. Figures on overpayment are reported by academic year, and the most recently completed academic year for which figures are available is 2011/12. They show that 49,300 customers were overpaid grants amounting to £69.1 million. These figures are subject to change as SLC receives new information and re-assesses overpayment amounts in the light of this.
	It is not possible to provide a complete assessment of loan overpayments. This is because overpayments of loan are only recorded as such until such time as the person becomes liable to begin making repayments. After that point, the overpaid amount is recorded as part of the loan balance, which is generally recovered via the tax system. Figures for borrowers who have received an overpayment of loan and who are not yet in repayment were published in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) on 18 April 2012, Official Report, columns 385-6W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to fund women's shelters in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: I have made eliminating violence against women and girls a strategic priority in the Afghanistan country plan.
	DFID's work has centred on helping the prevention of violence against women, including supporting the legal framework and enforcement measures that protect against violence. We will continue to review our plans for effectiveness.

Developing Countries: Conditions of Employment

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what commitments UK retailers made to improve labour standards and working conditions in the developing countries they operate in following the recent meeting hosted by her Department;
	(2)  what steps to improve labour standards in developing countries were agreed upon by her Department following her meeting with UK retailers.

Justine Greening: In July, my Department brought together, for the first time ever, major UK retailers, the Ethical Trading Initiative and DFID Ministers to discuss how business and government can work more effectively together to drive up safety and improve working conditions in developing countries. This was a constructive meeting that identified opportunities for joint action around transparency, knowledge sharing and capacity building.

Developing Countries: Environment Protection

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what ways her Department has held the International Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility to account for how UK contributions are being spent on the environment.

Alan Duncan: The International Climate Fund (ICF) is a Government fund operated between DFID, DECC, HMT and DEFRA. A mid-term evaluation of the ICF is being conducted this summer, which will assess progress towards the intended strategic objectives of the ICF.
	The Global Environment Facility (GEF) performance is monitored annually and its impact assessed in an evaluation at the end of each four-year replenishment period, conducted by the GEF's Independent Office of Evaluation. The evaluation of the current fifth replenishment (2010-14) will be complete later this year. The GEF's performance will also be reviewed through an update of the UK's Multilateral Aid Review which will be completed this autumn.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to leverage its financial leadership of the global malaria campaign into greater commitments by other donor countries.

Justine Greening: The UK Government is working with a wide range of civil society organisations and the Gates Foundation to increase domestic and international financing for malaria and ensure greater value for money. In countries where DFID works, the UK encourages countries to meet regional financing commitments for health sector spending, such as the Abuja target in Africa.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on Department for International Development: Malaria, HC 534, what steps her Department plans to take to strengthen health systems in developing countries.

Alan Duncan: To ensure that targeted services such as malaria control are effectively delivered and sustained over time, it is important that interventions take into account the local context and help strengthen the national health system. Countries with stronger health systems have been shown to have lower infant, child and maternal mortality rates. DFID's approach, supports targeted cost-effective interventions such as bed nets and medicines, and seeks to ensure the longer term development of a health system.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her recent commitment, at the Nutrition for Growth Summit, to increase funding for nutrition specific interventions by eight per cent between 2013 and 2020 will include activities and programmes that focus on water, sanitation and hygiene; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: Yes, DFID is committed to seeing nutrition in a context which includes water, sanitation and hygiene and our programmes reflect this.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the financial commitment made at the recent Nutrition for Growth Summit of increased funding of eight per cent between 2013 and 2020 will be broken down across her Department's programmes; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: Decisions on new programmes will be taken by DFID country offices and will be co-ordinated to meet an overall increase of 8%.

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how her Department's budget increase for 2013 was allocated via (a) multilateral organisations and (b) bilateral programmes.

Alan Duncan: Information related to DFID's forward spending plans are contained in the Annual Report and Accounts:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13
	Departmental operational plans can be accessed from DFID's website at this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/series/operational-plans-2013

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many vending machines in her Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

Alan Duncan: DFID has two vending machines, one for food and one for drinks, both of which are in our East Kilbride office. These are operated by our external catering contractor, and contain a range of products.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions there were for alcohol-related illnesses in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust area and (c) England in each year since 2008-09.

Anna Soubry: The following table contains the sum of the. estimated alcohol-related admissions, using attributable fractions, for York teaching hospital NHS foundation trust, North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) of treatment and England for the years 2008-09 to 2011-12.
	Alcohol attributable fractions do not provide a count of episodes with an alcohol-related diagnosis or cause code but rather an estimate of the numbers based on the proportion of diseases and injuries that can be wholly or partially attributed to alcohol.
	The attributable fractions are not applicable to children under 16. Therefore figures for this age group relate only to wholly attributable admissions, where the attributable fraction is one.
	It should be noted that these data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	
		
			 Sum of alcohol attributable fractions(1) for hospital admissions for York teaching hospital NHS foundation trust(2), North Yorkshire and York PCT of treatment(3) and England, 2008-09 to 2011-12(4) 
			 Activity in England NHS hospitals and England NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  York teaching hospital NHS foundation trust North Yorkshire and York PCT of treatment England 
			 2008-09 4,960 10,150 945,470 
			 2009-10 4,932 12,276 1,056,962 
			 2010-11 5,334 13,465 1,168,266 
			 2011-12 5,178 13,944 1,220,293 
			 (1)Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory, (NWPHO) which uses 48 indicators for alcohol-related illnesses, determining the proportion of a wide range of diseases and injuries that can be partly attributed to alcohol as well as those that are, by definition, wholly attributable to alcohol. Further information on these proportions can be found at: www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/AlcoholAttributableFractions.pdf The application of the NWPHO methodology has recently been updated and is now available directly from Hospital Episode Statistics. As such, information about episodes estimated to be alcohol-related may be slightly different from previously published data. (2)Hospital provider A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or PCT). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of data flows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (3)PCT of main provider This indicates the PCT area within which the organisation providing treatment was located. (4)Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Antidepressants

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 19 December 2011, Official Report, column 1037W, on anti-depressants, for what reason, in the final version of the Commissioning Guide on Addiction to Medicines, published on 28 June 2013, commissioners have been advised not to treat long-term users of anti-depressants.

Anna Soubry: The commissioning guide on addiction to medicines does not advise commissioners:
	“not to treat long-term users of anti-depressants”.
	National health service and local authority commissioners will want to ensure that appropriate treatment is available locally for patients after the long-term use of any medicine. The guide does exclude antidepressants from consideration by commissioners since, as it explains in appendix A:
	“there is no clear evidence that these medicines can produce dependence according to internationally accepted criteria.”

Care Quality Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 702W, on Care Quality Commission: Spend on Public Affairs, how much the Care Quality Commission spent on (a) public affairs and media in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010 and (b) media in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and social care in England.
	In the year 2009-10 and 2010-11, public affairs and media were one team.
	The following table shows CQC expenditure on public affairs and media for 2009-10 and 2010-11, and expenditure for the media team for 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	
		
			 Spend 
			   £ 
			 2009-10 Public Affairs and Media Team 1,160,504.94 
			 2010-11 Public Affairs and Media Team 841,806.73 
			 2011-12 Media Team 583,201.00 
			 2012-13 Media Team 685,790.00 
		
	
	The Public Affairs team supports the CQC's accountability to Government, Parliament and national stakeholder organisations.
	The Media Team is responsible for the CQC's communications with national and regional media; from 1 April 2013, the team has also included regional communications and broadly supports engagement with regional media, providers and stakeholders. Both teams sit with the Communications Directorate, which also covers provider communications, public communications, internal communications and publishing.
	Expenditure for 2013-14 is not available.

Care Quality Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 701W, on Care Quality Commission, how many people have been employed with the Care Quality Commission at each salary grade in its media team in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator for health and social care in England.
	The following table shows the establishment of the media team, split by pay grade.
	On 1 April 2013, regional communications was brought under the media team, with the following establishment grades not shown in the following table:
	A—one post;
	B—four posts; and
	D—two posts.
	This is seven posts in total.
	
		
			 Salary grades used by the media team in 2012 and 2013(1) 
			 Grade 1 April 2012 1 April 2013 
			 E3 0 1 
			 A 1 0 
			 B 0 4 
			 C 4 0 
			 D 0 0 
			 Total 5 5 
			 (1 )Like-for-like equivalent. 
		
	
	The Media Team is responsible for the Care Quality Commission's communications with national and regional media; from 1 April 2013, the team has also included regional communications, and supports engagement with regional media, providers and stakeholders. The team sits with the Communications Directorate, which also covers public affairs, provider communications, public communications, internal communications and publishing.

Care Quality Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 702W, on Care Quality Commission: Public Affairs Team, how many people the Care Quality Commission employed in (a) its public affairs and media team in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010 and (b) its media team in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator for health and social care in England.
	In 2009 and 2010, public affairs and media were one team, so it is not possible to provide a separate figure for the public affairs and media teams for these years. From 2011 onwards they were split. The following table provides combined numbers in the public affairs and media teams on 1 April 2009 and 2010 and numbers in the media team on 1 April each year for 2011, 2012 and 2013.
	
		
			 Number 
			 As at 1 April each year Establishment Actual headcount Actual full-time equivalent Vacancies Temporary/interim staff Vacancies after temps 
			 2009 — (1)15 (1)15 — 0 — 
			 2010 — (1)14 (1)14 — 0 — 
			 2011 5 4 4 1 1 0 
			 2012 5 3 3 2 2 0 
			 2013 5 (2)4 3 2 2 0 
			 (1 )Combined Public Affairs and Media Team. (2) This includes an employee on maternity leave. 
		
	
	On 1 April 2013, regional communications, not included in this table, was brought under the media team, with an establishment of seven, a headcount of six and a vacancy of one.
	The Public Affairs team supports the Care Quality Commission's accountability to Government, Parliament and national stakeholder organisations. The Media Team is responsible for the Care Quality Commission's communications with national and regional media; from 1 April 2013, the team has also included regional communications, whose role supports engagement with regional media, providers and stakeholders. Both teams sit with the Communications Directorate, which also covers provider communications, public communications, internal communications and publishing.

Cystic Fibrosis

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the progress and development of the new national urgent lung allocation system for cystic fibrosis patients.

Anna Soubry: Policies for the allocation of solid organs from deceased donors are developed by NHS Blood and Transplant's (NHSBT) appropriate Solid Organ Advisory Group which consists of clinicians and other interested parties. The Cardiothoracic Organs Advisory Group is currently looking at improving the allocation of donated lungs. Once NHSBT receives this group's recommendations, they will be considered by NHSBT's Transplant Policy Review Committee. If agreed, changes will be implemented within the available resources, as soon as possible.

Drugs: Misuse

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of children living with a parent who is a drug-abusing addict; and how that estimate was reached.

Anna Soubry: The most recent estimate for the number of children living with parents who are in drug treatment was published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse in 2012. Their report on parental drug misuse ‘Parents with drug problems: how treatment helps families’ estimated that there were 104,000 children living with parents who were in drug treatment during 2011-12.
	A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Drug Strategy 2010, page 18, paragraph six, what estimate he has made of the number of people in receipt of substitute prescriptions for heroin who have jobs.

Daniel Poulter: Data on the number of people in receipt of substitute prescriptions for heroin who have jobs is not collected centrally.

First Aid: Curriculum

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effects of teaching first aid in schools on public health and reducing unnecessary accident and emergency admissions.

Anna Soubry: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential effects of teaching first aid in schools on public health and reducing avoidable attendances at accident and emergency (A&E) departments.
	Public Health England advise of some international research that shows children (as young as nine years of age) can administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) once taught a certain level of training by an expert, however these focus on life threatening situations and do not relate to A&E attendance avoidance.
	The Department for Education holds the responsibility for school's curriculum and state that the provision of emergency life-saving skills (ELS) is a matter for local determination. Teachers are free to teach ELS within the wider school curriculum and may choose to do this as part of Personal, Social Health and Economic Education.

Flour: Folic Acid

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with (a) other Government Departments, (b) industry representatives, (c) health stakeholders and (d) others on the efficacy of a future policy of fortification of flour with folic acid; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The fortification of flour with folic acid is an area about which the Department receives considerable correspondence from industry, health and other stakeholders. We have committed to further consideration of the issue of folic acid fortification and are continuing these discussions, which includes with other Government Departments.

General Practitioners: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) GPs, (b) nurses, (c) other clinical staff and (d) staff in total were employed in GP surgeries in the City of York in each year since 2009-10.

Daniel Poulter: The data are not available in the format requested.
	The number of general practitioners (GPs) in the former North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) area in each year since 2009-10 (years ending 30 September) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 GPs 2009 2010 2011 2013 
			 GP providers 476 473 468 462 
			 GP others 118 119 137 153 
			 GP registrars 46 49 60 81 
			 GP retainers 18 16 12 10 
			 Total GPs 658 652 672 701 
			 Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care—General and Personal Medical Services Statistics 
		
	
	The number of practice staff in the former North Yorkshire and York PCT area in each year since 2009-10 (years ending 30 September) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Practice staff 2009 2010 2011 2013 
			 Practice nurses 392 318 359 384 
			 Direct patient care — 219 234 272 
			 Admin and clerical — 1,298 1,356 1,415 
			 Other — 106 156 174 
			 Total practice staff — 1,941 2,105 2,245 
			 Notes: 1. GP work force statistics are not available at constituency level. Figures are provided for the former North Yorkshire and York PCT, which serviced the City of York. 2. The new headcount methodology for GPs from 2010 onwards means these data are not fully comparable with previous years, due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the Census publication. Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 3. 2009 practice staff information was collected at PCT level. The information for the former North Yorkshire and York PCT is estimated based on previous censuses as no data were supplied. 4. In 2010-12 practice staff information was collected at practice level with estimates being calculated (based on registered patient numbers) for those practices with missing information. In 2010 information was estimated for 100% of North Yorkshire and York PCTs practices as no data were supplied, in 2011 it was estimated for 30% of practices and in 2012 it was estimated for 8% of practices. 5. ‘—’ denotes not available. 2009 data were not supplied and only practice nurse and total staff were estimated for the headcount data. 6. The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care—General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Genetically Modified Organisms: Maize

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safety assessment he has made of recent research by Professor Seralini at the University of Caen on the toxic effect of the consumption of Monsanto's Roundup-resistant NK103 maize on animal and human health.

Anna Soubry: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has carried out a detailed review of the research carried out by Professor Seralini and has stated that the authors' conclusions are not supported by the data in the published paper. The EFSA is the principal risk assessment body for food and feed safety within the European Union and it is tasked with providing independent scientific advice and clear communication on existing and emerging risks. The UK Food Standards Agency agrees with the EFSA's conclusion.

Health Services: North Yorkshire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent NHS (a) hospital doctors, (b) GPs, (c) dentists, (d) nurses and midwives, (e) other clinical staff and (f) staff in total were employed in (i) York and (ii) North Yorkshire in each year since 1996-97; and what the staff costs in each category were in each year since 2009-10 (1) in cash terms and (2) at current prices.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Full-time equivalent data for all doctors, dentists and non-medical staff for the York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust have been placed in the Library.
	Information on the cost of staff permanently employed, by the national health service, and non-NHS staff (agency staff) from 2009-10 to 2011-12, for North Yorkshire and York PCT and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT Staff Costs 
			 £000 
			 Category 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Total Medical Staff 15,659 18,005 1,248 
			 Total Dental Staff 987 998 15 
			 Total Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Staff 52,522 51,548 1,681 
			 Total Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical Staff 20,556 22,997 1,446 
			 Healthcare Assistants and other Support Staff 17,356 17,307 18 
			 Total Staff Costs 135,684 139,043 17,431 
			 Source: 2009-10 to 2011-12 PCT Financial Returns 
		
	
	
		
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust Staff Costs 
			 £000 
			 Category 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Total Medical Staff 8 285 511 
			 Total Dental Staff 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Total Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Staff 417 193 196 
			 Total Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical Staff 0 3 3 
			 Healthcare Assistants and other Support Staff 1,630 1,821 1,910 
			 Ambulance Staff 112,456 113,065 112,929 
			 Total Staff Costs 142,579 143,710 145,062 
			 Notes: 1. York Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was authorised as a foundation trust on 1 April 2007. The Department does not collect data from NHS foundation trusts. Therefore, figures for 2007-08 and beyond are not collected centrally. 2. The collection of Financial Returns (FR) data in 2012-13 has been abolished for PCTs and is under review for NHS trusts. Therefore, FR data for 2012-13 is not available. 3. Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust serves across Yorkshire. It is not possible to separately identify costs relating specifically to North Yorkshire and York from the information held. Source: 2005-06 to 2011-12 NHS Trusts Financial Returns

NHS Foundation Trusts

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he is giving to the timetable for applications for NHS Foundation Trust status by existing applicants; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The 2014 deadline for reaching foundation trust status has done much to galvanise the national health service trust sector and drive improvement. However, in light of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry report, we have allowed the NHS Trust Development Authority to agree trajectories for NHS trusts to reach foundation trust status that go beyond 2014 on a case by case basis. In so doing, we will ensure that the primary focus of the NHS Trust Development Authority and of NHS trusts themselves is on improving the quality and sustainability of services for patients.

NHS: Pay

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the annual pay settlement for doctors and consultants was between 1997 and 2010;
	(2)  what the annual pay settlement in the NHS was between 1997 and 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Hospital medical staff(1) Settlement—NHS staff (non-medical) 
			 1996-97 3.8%-6.8%—Staged(2) 8%—In full 
			 1997-98 3.4%—Staged(3) 3.3%—Staged(5) 
			 1998-99 4.2%-5.2%—Staged(4) 3.8%—Staged(6) 
			 1999-2000 3.5%—In full 4.7% plus extra for nurses (12%) and Professions Allied to Medicine (8.7%) to aid Recruitment and Retention—In full 
			 2000-01 3.3%—In full 3.4% plus extra for nurses (7%-7.8%) and Professions Allied to Medicine (8.4%) to aid Recruitment and Retention—In full 
			 2001-02 3.9%—In full 3.7% plus average 2% for F-I grades by consolidation of discretionary points—In full 
			 2002-03 3.6%—In full 3.6%—In full 
			 2003-04 3.225%—In full 3.225%—In full 
			 2004-05 2.95%—In full 3.225%—In full 
			 2005-06 3.12%—In full 3.225%—In full 
			 2006-07 2.2%-2.4%—Staged for consultants 2.5%—In full 
		
	
	
		
			 2007-08 £1,000 increase in basic salary for consultants and SAS grades £650 increase in basic salary for training grades—Staged 2.5%—Staged(7) 
			 2008-09 2.2%—In full 2.75%—In full, (as year 1 of Multi Year Deal) 
			 2009-10 1.5%—In full 2.4%—Year 2 of Multi Year Deal 
			 2010-11 0% consultants 1% Foundation Years 1 and 2 (Doctors in training) 1% other grades 2.25%—Year 3 of Multi Year Deal 
			 (1) This includes consultants, hospital specialists and junior doctors (2) Percentage held back to 1 December 1996 (3) Staged: 2% from 1 April 1997 balance form 1 December 1997 (4) Staged: 2% from 1 April 1998 balance from 1 December 1998 (5) Staged: 2.8% from 1 April 1997 balance from 1 December 1997 (6 )Staged: 2% from 1 April 1998 balance from 1 December 1998 (7 )For staff on pay points 1-7, £400 with 1.5% payable from 1 April and the remainder from 1 November. For staff on pay points 8-18, 2.5% plus £38 with 1.5% from 1 April and the remainder from 1 November. For all other staff, 2.5% with 1.5% payable from 1 April and the remainder from 1 November.

Nurses: Pay

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average gross earnings of a full-time equivalent NHS nurse was in (a) cash and (b) real terms in (i) England and (ii) York in each year since 2009-10;
	(2)  what the starting salary of a full-time equivalent NHS nurse in York was in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 1996-97.

Daniel Poulter: The data are not available in the format requested.
	The annual basic pay per full-time employee for qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in England, the former North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) and York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust each year since 2009 (years ending 31 March) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 England 28,028 29,111 30,122 30,390 30,544 
			 Former North Yorkshire and York PCT 29,261 30,153 31,392 32,010 33,740 
			 York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 26,715 27,847 28,996 29,477 29,835 
			 Notes: 1. Starting salaries data in cash and real terms are not available, instead the table shows average annual earnings estimates for all nurses. Figures have been provided for annual basic pay per full- time equivalent (FTE) which is the mean amount of basic pay per one FTE post in a 12-month period. Typically, a newly qualified nurse should start at the bottom of Agenda for Change Band 5. Figures are based on staff with contracted hours more than zero. Bank and locum staff that typically have no contracted hours are not included in these figures. 2. The new estimated earnings methodology is not fully comparable with data for years prior to April 2008. Data are therefore provided for the years 2009 to 2013 only. Further information on the new methodology can be found in the NHS Staff Earnings Estimates publication, which is available on the HSCIC website. 3. For the purposes of this query, York includes York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the former North Yorkshire and York PCT. In 2012, as a consequence of Transforming Community Services (TCS) the former provider arm of some PCTs may have transferred into local acute trusts. 4. The HSCIC seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on. figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care (HSCICJ—NHS Staff Earnings Estimates

Opiates

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each local authority area have been receiving a prescribing intervention for their opioid dependency for (a) less than 12 months, (b) one year, (c) two years, (d) three years, (e) four years, (f) five years, (g) six years, (h) seven years, (i) eight years, (j) nine years, (k) 10 years and (l) more than 10 years in each year since 2009.

Daniel Poulter: The Information has been placed in the Library. The table shows the numbers of people receiving a prescribing intervention for their opioid dependency for the time periods requested.

Organs: Donors

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding the potential for an opt-out organ donation system in the UK as a whole.

Anna Soubry: No recent representations have been received and there are no current plans to bring forward legislative proposals for an opt-out system for organ donation in England. We will monitor progress in Wales very closely to analyse the impact on donation rates in Wales and across the United Kingdom as a whole.
	We have made considerable progress over the last five years with a 50% improvement in organ donor rates and a 30% improvement in transplant rates. This is due to the successful implementation of the 14 recommendations made by the Organ Donation Taskforce in 2008. We wish to see this progress maintained.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with Organización Nacional de Trasplantes regarding organ donation rates in Spain.

Anna Soubry: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) regularly reviews international best practice, including the Spanish system, to inform the operation of organ donation services within the national health service. In this regard, NHSBT regularly works with Organizatión Nacional de Trasplantes. Both organisations are currently participating in the ACCORD (Achieving Comprehensive Coordination in Organ Donation), project—a European wide collaboration to increase organ donation and transplantation. Within this, NHSBT is leading a study of variations in clinical decisions to help optimise the potential for deceased organ donation across a number of European Union member states.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) assessment he has made and (b) reports he has received on the effect of dedicated transplant co-ordinators situated in hospitals on the rate of organ donation.

Anna Soubry: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) employs around 250 specialist nurses for organ donation based in national health service hospitals. They perform a vital role, working closely with intensive care and emergency department staff to identify potential donors, as well as supporting bereaved families through the organ donation process. NHSBT figures show that families are 30% more likely to support organ donation with this specialist support. In 2012-13, in cases where a specialist nurse was involved 65.8% of families approached about organ donation gave consent/authorisation compared to 36.7% of families where no specialist nurse was involved.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the intensive care units exist to (a) receive, (b) maintain and (c) make full use of all organs donated by organ donors.

Anna Soubry: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) will shortly be publishing their strategy “Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020”. The strategy builds on the Organ Donation Taskforce recommendations and identifies new ways to make sure that as many people as possible in the United Kingdom receive the transplant they need. Within this strategy, actions are identified for NHSBT, the national health service and commissioners to ensure that better support systems and processes are in place to optimise organ donations and transplantation. This includes ensuring that transplant centres have capacity and surgical expertise and other clinical skills to meet the demands for transplantation as donor numbers increase.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in organ donation rates in England since the Organ Donation Taskforce reported.

Anna Soubry: Since the publication of the Organ Donation Taskforce's report in 2008, a great deal of work has taken place across the national health service to increase the number of organs available for patients. A number of recommendations which have been implemented are specifically aimed at ensuring hospitals have the appropriate infrastructure in place to maximise the number of potential donors. These include an increase in the number of highly trained specialist nurses for organ donation; the appointment of clinical leads for organ donation; and the establishment of organ donation committees.
	In April 2013, NHSBT had increased the level of organ donation in the United Kingdom by 50% from 809 donors in 2007-08 to 1,212 donors in 2012-13.
	Transplantations increased by 30% from 2,385 in 2007-08 to 3,112 in 2012-13.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age of an organ donor was in each year from 2000.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Table: Mean donor age of deceased organ donors in the United Kingdom 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2013, by financial year 
			 Financial year Number of organ donors Mean age 
			 1999-2000 777 42 
			 2000-01 773 43 
		
	
	
		
			 2001-02 745 43 
			 2002-03 777 44 
			 2003-04 770 44 
			 2004-05 751 44 
			 2005-06 765 45 
			 2006-07 793 44 
			 2007-08 809 46 
			 2008-09 899 45 
			 2009-10 959 48 
			 2010-11 1,010 49 
			 2011-12 1,088 50 
			 2012-13 1,212 51 
			 Source: NHS Blood and Transplant.

Public Health England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women are (a) on the board of Public Health England and (b) directors of Public Health England; how many such women (i) applied for these posts and (ii) were shortlisted for posts; and how many of the selection panel for these posts were women.

Anna Soubry: There are currently five non-executive appointments on Public Health England's Advisory Board, comprising the chairman and four members. None are women.
	For the role of chairman of Public Health England's Advisory Board:
	one application was received from a woman out of a total of 11 applications;
	four candidates were shortlisted for interview including the application from a woman; and
	the selection panel included two women (a woman chaired the panel).
	For Public Health England's Advisory Board non-executive members:
	37 applications were received from women out of a total of 107 applications;
	11 candidates were shortlisted for interview including three applications from women; and
	the selection panel included two women (a woman chaired the panel).
	There are currently six female directors on the Public Health England National Executive. Of the 16 directors of the Public Health England National Executive, six directors transferred into Public Health England and two directors are on secondment from the NHS. Details of the recruitment process for the eight director posts recruited are:
	24 applications were received from women out of a total of 82 applications;
	seven applications from women were shortlisted; and
	every selection panel included at least one woman.

Public Health England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ability of Public Health England to fulfil its gender equality obligations under the Equality Act 2010; what assessment he has made of the representation of women on the board of Public Health England; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Department of Health conducted an initial equality assessment on the changes to the public health system, which informed the approach to embedding equality considerations in the transition programme.
	The Combined Equality Analyses for the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 has already been placed in the Library. It is available by searching for “Combined Equality Analyses for the Health and Social Care Bill 2011” at:
	www.gov.uk
	Public Health England will publish information annually demonstrating how it has met its duties under the Equality Act 2010.
	The recruitment campaign to Public Health England's Advisory Board was managed in a way that complied with the principles of the Commissioner for Public Appointment's Code of Practice—it was open, transparent and appointments were made on merit.
	We will shortly be advertising for further candidates to enhance the expertise available to Public Health England's Advisory Board and recognise the need to encourage applications from people from all walks of life, including from groups traditionally underrepresented at board level.

Public Health England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish Public Health England's equality strategy.

Anna Soubry: Public Health England (PHE) was established on 1 April 2013.
	A PHE equality analysis was published on 17 May 2013 and can be accessed online. It describes how equalities considerations have informed the design and transition of PHE, and how equalities work can be embedded into its future work.
	PHE's equality analysis can be viewed by clicking on the Publications tab at the bottom and entering ‘Equality analysis: Public Health England’ in the search box at:
	www.gov.uk
	PHE will establish a set of clearly defined organisational equalities objectives which will be published in the autumn.

Public Health England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure greater representation of women on the board of Public Health England.

Anna Soubry: In April 2013 we appointed four non-executive members to Public Health England's Advisory Board. They each bring to this role a great range of experience.
	We will shortly advertise for further candidates to enhance the expertise available to Public Health England. We aim to ensure that, as far as possible, the Advisory Board provides an appropriate gender balance and representation from ethnic minority and disability backgrounds.
	Departmental recruitment campaigns follow a fair, open and transparent process, with appointments made on merit.

Social Services

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 26 June 2013, Official Report, column 313, on the Spending Review, what the evidential basis is for the statement on the number of bed days saved due to changes in social care.

Norman Lamb: Delays in transferring patients between health and social care services lead to people staying in hospital beds longer than they should. This costs the national health service money and is harmful to patients.
	Reducing delayed transfers of care has been a priority for the Government, and in particular for the social care system, and we have included delayed transfers as a measure in the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF).
	To ensure that social care services can deliver these improvements, we have provided significant extra resources over this spending review period. In particular, by 2014-15, the NHS will be providing £1.1 billion a year to support social care services that have a health benefit. A significant proportion of this funding has been spent on reablement, intermediate care and early supported discharge services, which have a direct impact on delayed transfers of care.
	Statistics on the number of delayed days, and whether the delays are because of the NHS or social care services, are published on NHS England's website at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/delayed-transfers-of-care/
	These statistics show that in 2012-13, around 45,500 fewer bed days were lost to the NHS because of delayed transfers of care for patients waiting for adult social care services to make arrangements than in 2011-12.

Surgery

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 731W, on surgery, what assessment he has made of the implications for that policy of the ability of surgeons to refuse to publish their performance data under the Data Protection Act 1998; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of surgeons' performance data being excluded from the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Consultant performance data is personal data and subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. This does not prevent it from being used appropriately and legal advice has confirmed that it would be lawful to publish consultant performance data without the consent of the individual surgeons concerned. However, the Government believes that it is good practice to seek the agreement of the consultants concerned and to publish the names of those who feel that they are unable to agree along with the reasons why.
	To date, around 99% of consultants have agreed or not objected to information regarding their practice being published. Consultants and their reasons for opting out of publication will be listed on the NHS Choices website.

York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long on average people waited in accident and emergency at York Hospital before being treated in each year since 1996-97.

Anna Soubry: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the mean and median waiting time to treatment(1) at accident and emergency A&E in York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust(2), 2007-08 to 2011-12.(3)
	
		
			 York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 
			  Mean Median 
			 2007-08 23.1 17 
			 2008-09 23.9 17 
			 2009-10 26.8 19 
			 2010-11 30.4 22 
			 2011-12 54.7 38 
			 (1 )Average duration to treatment The mean and median time (minutes) between the patient's arrival and their treatment in A&E. NB: Waiting time statistics in A&E are often based on the time between the patient's arrival and the time of their departure from A&E. (2 )Hospital provider A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or PCT). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (3 )Assessing growth through time (A&E) Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) figures are available from 2007-08 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Note: Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for a first outpatient appointment at York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April and 1 October in each year since 1996.

Anna Soubry: Information is not available in the format requested. The number of patients waiting for a first out-patient appointment at York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April and 1 October in each year since 2004 when data was first published are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month ending Number waiting at period end 
			 2004  
			 September 4,800 
			   
			 2005  
			 March 7,697 
			 September 7,644 
			   
			 2006  
			 March 5,530 
			 September 4,416 
		
	
	
		
			 2007  
			 March 2,728 
			 September 3,423 
			   
			 2008  
			 March 2,237 
			 September 2,311 
			   
			 2009  
			 March 2,067 
			 September 1,987 
			   
			 2010  
			 March 1,602 
			 Notes: 1. Outpatient waiting times are measured from general practitioner referral to first out-patient appointment. 2. Figures first published June 2004 and last published March 2010. Source: Department of Health QM08, monthly monitoring return.

York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for elective admission at York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April in each year since 1996.

Anna Soubry: The number of patients waiting for elective admission at York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for each year since March 1996 to March 2010 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month ending Number waiting at period end 
			 March:  
			 1996 6,081 
			 1997 6,846 
			 1998 8,445 
			 1999 6,715 
			 2000 6,477 
			 2001 6,317 
			 2002 6,354 
			 2003 6,425 
			 2004 5,714 
			 2005 5,211 
			 2006 4,738 
			 2007 3,055 
			 2008 2,536 
			 2009 2,675 
			 2010 2,336 
			 Note: Data on in-patient waiting lists not collected after March 2010. Source: Department of Health KH07, Monthly monitoring return.

York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of capital expenditure his Department provided for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 1996-97.

Anna Soubry: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The Capital Resource Limit (CRL) and charge against the CRL for the then York Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for 2005-06 and 2006-07 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 £000 
			  Charge against the CRL Capital resource limit 
			 2005-06 13,187 23,761 
			 2006-07 (20,778) (20,594) 
			 Notes: 1. The Department only holds accounting data at organisation level for seven years, and therefore figures prior to 2005-06 are not available. 2. York Teaching Hospital NHS Trust was authorised as a foundation trust (FT) on 1 April 2007. The Department does not collect data from NHS FTs. Therefore, figures for 2007-08 and beyond are not collected centrally. FTs receive their income from running services and make decisions themselves about capital expenditure. 3. In 2005-06 and 2006-07, the Department allocated capital to the national health service by setting a CRL for each organisation. The CRL represents the total amount of capital expenditure that can be incurred in the financial year. It does not amount to the actual capital expenditure incurred. 4. The charge against the CRL represents gross capital expenditure, less asset disposals, capital grants and donations towards the acquisition of fixed assets. 5. In 2006-07, the charge against CRL and CRL itself are negative due to the value of asset disposals exceeding the value of asset additions. Source: Department of Health audited summarisation schedules

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of how many affordable homes (a) have been provided under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2012-13 and (b) will be provided under that section in each financial year from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 2 July 2013
	It is estimated for 2010-11 29,580 affordable homes were provided funding partly or entirely through section 106. This figure is not available for more recent years.
	Of these 29,580 dwellings there were 3,490 new affordable homes provided entirely through section 106 in 2010-11. This means no grant was required in addition to the developer contribution. 4,120 dwelling were provided entirely through section 106 in 2011-12.
	Statistics on additional affordable homes are published in Table 1000 on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/attachment_data/file/10798/2247574.xls
	The Department does not publish specific forecasts of affordable housing building. However, we announced in the recent spending review that construction is planned to start on 165,000 affordable homes between 2015-16 and 2017-18. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of how many will be provided, either partly or entirely through section 106, because it is contingent on the outcome of the competitive bidding process.

Betting Shops

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made following the Portas Review into high streets to classify betting shops under a separate use class.

Mark Prisk: The Government response to the Portas review did not commit to creating separate use class, but outlined local councils' powers to address localised problems.
	Councils have powers under the Gambling Act to licence betting shops and address problems by individual premises. In addition, councils have a range of planning powers to protect local amenity; for example, the London borough of Barking and Dagenham has been consulting on an Article 4 Direction and associated supplementary planning guidance to address the proliferation of betting shops in the local area.

Building Regulations

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to extend Part M regulations to extensions to buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 October 2012, Official Report, column 300W, which sets out that the Government have no plans at present to change the limits of application of Part M of the Building Regulations.

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to local authorities on granting educational relief for business rates to private, voluntary and independent Early Years childcare providers.

Brandon Lewis: Business rates reliefs are either mandatory—and therefore must be granted if the eligibility criteria are met—or at the discretion of the relevant local authority. Charitable child care providers may benefit from 80% charity relief. Any child care provider that meets the eligibility criteria may benefit from Small Business Rate Relief, which the Government has doubled until April 2014. We estimate that half a million businesses are benefiting from that doubling, with a third of a million paying no rates at all. In addition, we have given authorities the powers to provide local discounts which can be used to provide relief as councils see fit. Where they do so, central Government meets 50% of the costs.

Disabled Facilities Grants

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether his Department has conducted any studies into variations in the fees charged by local authorities and utility companies in relation to disabled facilities grants;
	(2)  what work his Department has done to assess value for money in relation to disabled facilities grants;
	(3)  what guidance his Department provided to local authorities on the disabled facilities grant regime; and whether he plans to review such guidance.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not conducted any studies into variations in the fees charged by local authorities and utility companies in relation to the disabled facilities grant.
	The Department has not undertaken work to assess value for money in relation to disabled facilities grants.
	Non-statutory guidance on disabled facilities grant guidance was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2004 and 2006. The Department has been consulted on an updated version of the guidance which is being drafted by the Homes Adaptations Consortium, which will also publish the new guidance.

Disabled Facilities Grants

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many disabled facilities grants were approved in the last five years in England and Wales.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government funds the disabled facilities grant which is administered by local authorities in England and provides adaptations to the homes of disabled people to help them to live as independently as possible in their own home.
	The Government secured £725 million for the grant in the 2010 spending review for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15 and over the last two years the Government has invested a further £60 million in the disabled facilities grant, bringing the total grant in 2011-12 to £200 million and in 2012-13 to £220 million. In the 2015-16 spending round announcement, a further £220 million has been allocated to the disabled facilities grant.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect data on the number of grants approved annually, but the Department does collect data on the number of grants completed in England and this information for the years 2009-10 to 2011-12 is provided in the following table. Data for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are not held by the Department. Data for 2012-13 will be available in August 2013.
	
		
			  Number of disabled facilities grants completed 
			 2009-10 44,102 
			 2010-11 45,383 
			 2011-12 43,986

Fire Services: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the retained duty fire fighting system in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Brandon Lewis: Employee working systems are the sole responsibility of individual fire and rescue authorities. I have made no assessment of the retained duty fire fighting system in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
	My Department recognises and is grateful for the contribution of the retained duty system to this country. It represents not only a flexible and economic service, but one which helps bind many communities together.
	In his recently published review into efficiency and operations of fire and rescue authorities in England, Sir Ken Knight commented that retained duty staff are the backbone of provision across the country. He also identified significant costs savings which would arise through a modest increase in retained duty provision.

Fire Services: Cleveland

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received from (a) Cleveland Fire Authority and (b) the Chief Fire Officer of Cleveland Fire Brigade on pre-consultation on potential mutualisation in the fire sector; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: My Department received a response from Cleveland fire brigade on 14 December 2012 in reply to our pre-consultation letter on fire mutuals. We are not planning to publish this response at present since it contains commercially sensitive information. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to my speech in the Adjournment Debate, at which he attended, of 13 May 2013. Official Report, column 470 onwards.

Fire Services: Cleveland

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the basis was for the statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to the Communities and Local Government Committee on 15 May 2013, uncorrected transcript, HC 105-i, Q19, that Cleveland Fire Authority was not progressing with mutualisation at the moment.

Brandon Lewis: I was seeking to clarify the Government's position on supporting locally-led mutuals in the fire and rescue service, and that we are not opening the door to wholesale privatisation. Any decision on mutualisation will be a matter for Cleveland Fire and Rescue Authority and its elected members.

Fire Services: Pensions

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to prevent reductions in the pensions of retained system firefighters.

Brandon Lewis: Retained firefighters are eligible to be members of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2006. A new reformed firefighters' pension scheme will be implemented for regular and retained firefighters from 2015. The 2015 scheme will be a good quality pension scheme and the pension benefits received by a new retained firefighter will be as good as the ones available to a retained firefighter starting work today.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many people have been required to leave their homes in the North of England since the introduction of the under occupancy penalty;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people required to leave their homes and move into private rented accommodation as a result of the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty in the north of England.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	No assessment has yet been made about the number of people who have moved as a result of the removal of the spare room subsidy. This measure is not about forcing people to move, but as with people not in receipt of benefits, it is reasonable to expect claimants to make a contribution towards rent where they have additional rooms in a property.
	A consortium has been commissioned to monitor the effects of the policy in a selection of local authorities over the next two years. The research will include claimants' responses to the policy measure.
	Initial findings will be available in 2014 and the final report is due in late 2015.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes containing two or more bedrooms under local authority or housing association control were lying empty in the north of England immediately prior to the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty tax.

Mark Prisk: DCLG does not hold information centrally on the number of vacant local authority or private registered provider (housing association) properties with two or more bedrooms.

Housing: Construction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the number of houses for which planning permission has been granted but which are not yet built in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire.

Nicholas Boles: The latest figures (provided by Glenigan, based on sites of 10 units or over) show that, as of 3 June 2013, there were 60,500 residential units that were classed as on hold or shelved. A further 189,900 units were estimated to be progressing toward a start. There were a further 10,500 units which were in the process of being sold or where information is unavailable. Information is not publicly available at smaller geographical scales.
	It has been suggested in recent weeks that there are 400,000 homes that could have been built which have not been built because of land hoarding, with firms sitting on land waiting for it to accumulate in value and not building on it. For the record, this assertion is incorrect and misleading.
	The notional 400,000 figure stems from a report commissioned by the Local Government Association undertaken by Glenigan using data sourced in December 2011. It notes that in 2011 there were 399,816 residential units with planning permission which were "unimplemented". However, the report clearly distinguishes between sites under construction and sites which were unstarted.
	Of that 400,000 units figure, 191,000 was private housing already under construction. A further 83,000 units were unimplemented provisions for social housing (and therefore, in no sense private sector developers 'hoarding land'). The report also notes that the amount of unimplemented schemes has fallen by a third from 2008 to 2011, and the number of private, unstarted units has fallen from 206,000 in March 2008 to 127,000 in December 2011.
	Indeed, the Office of Fair Trading examined the suggestion of land banking in 2008. They reported:
	“We have not found any evidence to support the view that, at the national level, homebuilders are hoarding a large amount of land with implementable planning permission on which they have not started construction” (para 5.89)
	and
	“Having a stock of land helps a homebuilder cope with fluctuations in the housing market and also helps to reduce its exposure to risk resulting from the planning system. We have not found any evidence that homebuilders have the ability to anti-competitively hoard land or own a large amount of land with planning permission on which they have not started to build. Apart from the homebuilding firms, the available information suggests that the largest ‘landbank’ may be that held by the public sector. If the Government and devolved Administrations wish to ease this constraint going forward then one potential way of doing this would be to make more public sector land, which is suitable for development, more readily available to homebuilders” (OFT, Homebuilding in the UK: A market study, September 2008, para 1.8).
	This Government has introduced a wide ranging package to support stalled house building. These include making £570 million available through the Get Britain Building investment fund aiming to unlock new homes on stalled sites, and a £474 million investment fund in local infrastructure for stalled locally-supported, large scale housing sites and commercial development. Our investments to date are helping to bring forward new homes, boosting the construction industry and stimulating economic growth.
	In addition, the Growth and Infrastructure Act enables developers with any Section 106 agreement, irrespective of the date of signature, to apply for a review of the affordable housing component to ensure development is not being made unviable by unrealistic requirements. Such unrealistic Section 106 agreements result in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits: a sensible review can result in more housing and more affordable housing.
	We also have a comprehensive programme to sell surplus and redundant public sector land and property, freeing up taxpayers' money and providing land for new homes.

Housing: Construction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local plans have been rejected by his Department's inspectors on the basis of providing insufficient housing numbers since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: No plans have been subject to a formal recommendation of unsoundness, based on insufficient housing numbers, since May 2010.

Housing: Construction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria and evidence his Department's inspectors use when assessing the appropriate housing provision for an area when considering local plans which have been submitted for approval; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: The starting point for Planning Inspectors when assessing the appropriate housing provision for an area is the requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework for councils to plan to meet the objectively assessed needs for housing. While there is no standard methodology, councils' assessments should be demonstrably objective.
	The housing requirement figure must be justified by the evidence submitted by councils, in particular an up to date Strategic Housing Market Assessment, covering the housing market area. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment Practice Guidance August 2007 can still be used to identify future housing requirements where relevant to the National Planning Policy Framework.
	The existing guidance on Strategic Housing Market Assessment is included in the review of Government planning practice guidance. We propose to publish significantly reduced planning guidance by this summer, providing much needed simplicity and clarity.

Housing: Construction

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has recently issued on building on the flood plain.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework, together with supporting Technical Guidance on flood risk, was issued on 27 March 2012. The Framework is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Local planning authorities should direct development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains, but where development is necessary, it must be demonstrated that it is safe and will not increase flood risk elsewhere. The supporting guidance explains how key aspects of the policy should be implemented.

Housing: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are better able to access wheelchair accessible housing stock in neighbouring areas and more efficiently utilise the national wheelchair accessible housing stock.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not issued any guidance on keeping a register of wheelchair-accessible housing and has no plans to do so. It is incumbent on housing authorities to effectively manage their housing stock, including closer working with neighbouring authorities where practical.
	Social tenants wishing to move home are able to use HomeSwap Direct, the national home swap scheme, to search for adapted properties. HomeSwap Direct increases opportunities for all social tenants who wish to find a new home by allowing tenants looking for a swap to see details of every possible property nationwide, no matter which mutual exchange website their landlord has chosen to subscribe to. Most mutual exchange providers enable the identification of disabled access or adaptations to a property when searching for a swap.

Housing: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of demand for wheelchair-accessible properties in the UK.

Mark Prisk: DCLG does not hold information on the overall demand for wheelchair-accessible properties in the UK.
	While DCLG's English Housing Survey does ask respondents whether their current accommodation requires adaptations given their disability or long standing illness, these questions do not ask specifically about wheelchair accessibility. It is therefore not possible to estimate demand for wheelchair-accessible properties in England using this data source.
	Estimates, using DCLG's English Housing Survey show there to be around 1.1 million wheelchair-accessible homes in England, equating to 5% of the dwelling stock. Data reported by social landlords, in England, shows that around 1% (2,700 of 240,000 general needs lettings) of tenants taking up a social letting in 2011-12 identified their household as needing wheelchair-accessible housing.(1)
	(1)Source:
	The Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales of Social Housing in England

Housing: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley and (c) South Yorkshire have qualified for the New Homes Bonus (NHB) to date; how much funding has been given to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council under the NHB to date; and what estimate he has made of the number of new houses built in (i) Barnsley Central constituency, (ii) Barnsley and (iii) South Yorkshire as a result of the NHB.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 8 July 2013
	New Homes Bonus funding is calculated and awarded by local authority area. It is not therefore possible to identify delivery and funding relating to the Barnsley Central parliamentary constituency.
	It is not possible to identify which housing delivery has occurred as a direct result of the New Homes Bonus. The New Homes Bonus is one part of a package of government interventions aimed at increasing housing supply. It is not possible to identify the impact of these policies in isolation.
	The requested figures for Barnsley are in the following table:
	
		
			 Barnsley 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total 
			 Number of new units/conversions 682 918 785 2,385 
			 Number of empty properties back into use -122 119 252 249 
			 Total units rewarded (number) 560 1,037 1,037 2,634 
			      
			 Funding (£)* 698,661 2,070,500 3,453,271 6,222,432 
			 * Funding is cumulative, i.e. total funding for 2013-14 comprises the third instalment of year 1 funding, plus the second instalment for year 2, and the first instalment of year 3. 
		
	
	The other requested figures are given in the following tables:
	
		
			 Doncaster 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total 
			 Number of new units/conversions 142 385 414 941 
			 Number of empty properties back into use 144 2 -231 -85 
		
	
	
		
			 Total units rewarded (number) 286 387 183 856 
			      
			 Funding (£)* 403,301 928,406 1,313,695 2,645,403 
		
	
	
		
			 Rotherham 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total 
			 Number of new units/conversions 256 667 848 1,771 
			 Number of empty properties back into use 128 155 -13 270 
			 Total units rewarded (number) 384 822 835 2,041 
			      
			 Funding (£)* 508,364 1,580,600 2,748,542 4,837,506 
		
	
	
		
			 Sheffield 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total 
			 Number of new units/conversions 1,726 1,128 285 3,139 
			 Number of empty properties back into use -116 17 609 510 
			 Total units rewarded (number) 1,610 1,145 894 3,649 
			      
			 Funding (£)* 1,957,819 3,375,373 4,595,019 9,928,211 
			 * Funding is cumulative, i.e. total funding for 2013-14 comprises the third instalment of year 1 funding, plus the second instalment for year 2, and the first instalment of year 3. 
		
	
	Where a negative figure is shown in relation to empty homes, this means that the number of long-term empty properties increased, thereby reducing the amount of New Homes Bonus funding earnt.

Land Use: Agriculture

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will produce further planning guidance on protecting the best and most versatile agricultural land from development.

Nicholas Boles: The Government's policy on protecting the best and most versatile agricultural land is laid out in the National Planning Policy Framework. Additionally, the framework underlines that planning decisions should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside.
	We have been clear that councils should use their Local Plans to help shape where development should and should not take place and to help prevent unsustainable development. In this context, it is for local planning authorities to take the lead, rather than waiting for further Whitehall guidance.

Local Government: Pay

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual pay settlement for local government workers was between 1997 and 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Local government pay is a devolved matter. The Local Government Association, which represents local authorities in England, has provided data setting out national pay settlements since 1997 for local government workers in England by group. This information has been placed in the Library of the House.

Planning Permission: Urban Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made following the Portas Review on promoting the inclusion of the high street in neighbourhood plans.

Mark Prisk: Neighbourhood planning is gathering momentum. As of the beginning of July, over 550 communities have started a neighbourhood plan for their area, and more are joining them each week. The first neighbourhood plan is now in force in Upper Eden, Cumbria, where 90% of those voting said yes to the plan. Exeter St James and Thame both said a resounding ‘yes’ to their plans at referendums in May.
	Many neighbourhood plans specifically address issues around high streets. Of the 34 neighbourhood plans which have now been published for pre-submission consultation, around two thirds include specific policies to support employment and retail in their town or village centres.
	A £9.5 million, two-year support programme delivered by Locality and Planning Aid England supports neighbourhood plans, including those addressing high streets. Details of all support available and case studies are available at:
	www.mycommunityrights.org.uk

Regional Resilience Forums

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which bodies are responsible for carrying out the work previously done by regional resilience forums.

Brandon Lewis: I refer to my right hon. Friend to the answers given on 13 September 2012, Official Report, column 311W and 15 October, Official Report, column 227W, on regional resilience forums. Officials in my Department wrote to local resilience forums and responders in March 2011 to explain that the Government supported a flexible, localist and risk-based approach to cross-boundary working, rather than prescribing arrangements based on arbitrary regional boundaries.

Rents: Arrears

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of trends in social housing rent arrears since April 2013.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 25 June 2013
	Statistics are published annually on the total value of local authority social housing rent arrears, and are published on my Department's website here for 2011-12:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/73210/lahs-data-returns-for-2011-12.xls
	Data for 2012-13 will be available at the end of this year.
	In relation to housing associations, I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 26 March 2013, Official Report, column 1074W.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

Brandon Lewis: Officials monitor and update the following twitter accounts:
	DCLG @communitiesuk
	Enterprise Zones @EntZonesGov
	Fire Kills @Fire_Kills
	Right To Buy @righttobuy
	Tenant Power @tenantpower
	InfoforLocal @infoforlocal
	Private Rented Sector Taskforce @PRSTaskforce

Social Rented Housing: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many additional social rent dwellings were provided by York local authority area in 2009-10 and in each year since then.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on additional affordable housing provided in each local authority area are published in the Department's live tables 1006 (additional social rented homes) and 1008 (all additional affordable homes), which are available at the following link.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken following the Portas Review to support imaginative community use of empty properties through Community Right to Buy, Meanwhile Use and a new Community Right to Try.

Don Foster: A £19 million package to support the community ownership and management of assets was launched in July 2012. This programme is supporting innovative community led projects to acquire or manage assets. In addition a task and finish group is looking at barriers and enablers to success of the high street and empty property issues, and will report to the Future High Street Forum in the autumn.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Special Advisers

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many special advisers there are in his Office.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Telford (David Wright) on 26 March 2013, Official Report, column 1056W.

House of Lords Reform

Ian Murray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his plans are for reform of the House of Lords; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government has no further plans for major reforms of the House of Lords in this Parliament.
	However, recent events have shown that there is still work to do to clean up our political system and restore public confidence. That spans both Houses of Parliament. So as part of developing other reforms, like our proposals for recall of MPs, if there are 'housekeeping' changes for the Lords that require legislation we are willing to look seriously at the case for a package covering both Houses.

Voting Reform

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has for voting reform.

Chloe Smith: There are no plans at present to propose changes to existing voting systems.

City Deal: Norwich

Simon Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made on agreeing a City Deal for Norwich.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him at topical questions earlier today.

Commonwealth: Succession Laws

Mary Macleod: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether there is a timetable for the implementation of the new succession laws in the other Commonwealth realms.

Chloe Smith: All the realms have expressed their commitment to the changes and have either completed their domestic procedures or are in the process of doing so. We are confident that the provisions of the legislation will be commenced in all realms in the near future.

Privy Council

Chris Bryant: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Privy Council will next meet.

Nicholas Clegg: The Privy Council is next scheduled to meet tomorrow, Wednesday 10 July.

Social Mobility

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on improving social mobility.

Nicholas Clegg: I met with my ministerial colleagues, members of the Informal Ministerial Group on Social Mobility, on Wednesday 3 July. We received an update from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector for Schools on the provision of Careers advice in our schools, and discussed the forthcoming report from the Independent Commission on Child Poverty and Social Mobility.

CABINET OFFICE

Average Earnings: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the median gross weekly earnings of (a) men, (b) women and (c) all people employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in the areas covered by (A) York travel to work area, (B) York Unitary Authority and (C) York Central constituency in each year since 1997 (1) in cash terms and (2) at 2013 prices;
	(2)  what the average weekly gross earnings of full-time (a) men, (b) women and (c) people in York were in each year since 2006-07 in (i) cash terms and (ii) at constant prices.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions. Parliamentary Question 163879 asks the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the median gross weekly earnings of (a) men, (b) women and (c) all people employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in the areas covered by (A) York travel to work area, (B) York Unitary Authority and (C) York Central constituency in each year since 1997 (1) in cash terms and (2) at 2013 prices (163879). Parliamentary Question 163880 asks the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average weekly gross earnings of full-time (a) men, (b) women and (c) people in York were in each year since 2006-07 in (i) cash terms and (ii) at constant prices. (163880)
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence.
	The tables show estimates of median gross weekly earnings in the York travel to work area and York unitary authority from 1997 to 2012, City of York parliamentary constituency from 1997 to 2008 and York Central parliamentary constituency from 2009 to 2012. 2012 is the latest period for which results are available. Figures are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees, full-time males, part-time males, full-time females, and part-time females and are given separately in cash terms and in 2013 prices.
	This answer therefore provides the information requested in both Parliamentary Questions.
	
		
			 Median gross weekly earnings (£, cash prices) for employees(a )in York travel to work area, York unitary authority, City of York parliamentary constituency(b) and York Central parliamentary constituency(b) between April 1997 and April 2012 
			  Full-time employees Full-time males Full-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency 
			 1997 *296.9 *297.1 *306.5 *357.0 *363.3 *385.8 *236.0 *235.1 *240.7 
			 1998 319.2 322.6 *340.5 *363.0 *372.3 *387.4 *251.6 *249.6 *260.5 
			 1999 *334.6 *339.6 *357.9 *367.4 *382.3 *389.9 *265.3 *266.9 **267.7 
			 2000 368.5 368.2 *370.1 400.9 *403.4 *407.1 *284.2 *286.3 *293.3 
			 2001 355.5 372.1 375.2 386.1 *401.8 *407.5 *299.9 *303.4 *302.3 
			 2002 385.1 *399.6 *404.4 429.1 448.1 *466.3 *304.5 *305.6 *303.5 
			 2003 393.9 404.6 *415.4 431.9 *445.5 *489.8 *333.1 *334.7 *327.6 
			 2004(c) *417.9 *423.4 *459.6 456.3 *472.1 *498.3 *350.7 *342.1 **346.1 
			 2004(d) 412.8 *418.9 *437.9 438.7 *460.4 *473.6 *354.5 *342.2 *347.1 
			 2005 407.2 414.4 *442.5 *435.0 *453.6 *501.0 *355.7 *355.7 *360.6 
			 2006(e) 441.0 453.3 *460.0 472.2 485.6 *491.1 *381.2 *394.7 *393.6 
			 2006(f) 437.6 450.5 *457.5 469.3 480.6 *488.6 *379.7 *390.5 **391.1 
			 2007 *447.0 *461.5 *471.5 *494.4 *499.7 *536.2 *371.3 *392.7 **396.6 
			 2008 458.1 *462.0 *449.5 *487.6 *483.1 *470.7 *404.9 **398.2 **388.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Full-time employees Full-time males Full-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency 
			 2009 476.1 *475.6 *478.2 513.0 *526.9 *504.3 *399.4 *399.7 **447.5 
			 2010 482.4 477.2 *461.8 517.9 *504.4 *484.1 *436.9 *446.8 *437.4 
			 2011(g) 481.2 482.9 *476.7 517.1 *517.5 *498.2 *412.4 *421.4 *433.1 
			 2011(h) 477.1 477.4 *468.6 511.3 514.3 *497.7 *408.1 *410.5 *417.3 
			 2012 489.2 *504.1 *505.5 533.4 548.1 *546.6 *416.6 *424.4 *445.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Part-time employees Part-time males Part-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency 
			           
			 1997 *86.5 **86.8 **86.7 x x x *87.8 *89.3 **87.4 
			 1998 *89.4 *93.1 *99.6 **82.8 x x *89.4 *94.5 **102.6 
			 1999 *99.8 *99.9 **96.9 x x x *99.9 *101.0 **102.3 
			 2000 *110.0 *111.4 **111.0 x x x *115.6 **116.7 **121.0 
		
	
	
		
			 2001 **111.6 **111.2 **115.6 x x x **116.1 **116.4 **124.9 
			 2002 *117.9 *117.2 **113.1 x x x 124.4 *125.0 **123.6 
			 2003 *124.3 *121.9 **124.5 **114.0 x x *125.1 **124.1 **124.3 
			 2004(c) *127.7 *127.3 **143.2 x x x *129.9 *130.1 **142.4 
			 2004(d) *122.3 *121.4 **136.1 x x x *124.7 *125.7 **138.7 
			 2005 *123.6 *127.0 *133.7 x x x *127.3 *133.3 *145.3 
			 2006(e) *133.8 *135.8 *146.8 x x x *140.7 *145.5 **148.0 
			 2006(f) *136.2 *137.9 *147.1 x x x *142.0 *146.0 **148.0 
			 2007 *144.3 *145.5 **145.3 x x x *147.9 *148.5 **149.9 
			 2008 *146.0 **149.5 **137.9 x x x *149.5 **150.5 **142.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Part-time employees Part-time males Part-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency 
			 2009 *147.0 *148.1 **156.9 x x x 148.8 154.2 160.7 
			 2010 *151.4 **156.1 **172.8 121.3 x x 157.4 163.9 176.9 
			 2011(g) *147.7 *154.7 *173.3 138.8 x x 149.5 156.4 181.2 
			 2011(h) *147.0 *150.6 *170.1 138.9 x x 148.1 154.8 178.8 
			 2012 *143.9 *152.0 **152.8 117.5 108.8 x 152.9 161.4 155.0 
			 (a) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (b) Parliamentary constituency estimates are given for 'City of York' for 1997 to 2008 and for 'York Central' from 2009 to 2012. These constituencies do not share the same electoral ward boundaries. (c) 2004 results excluding supplementary survey for comparison with 2003. (d) 2004 results including supplementary survey designed to improve coverage of the survey (for more information see ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk). (e) 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2005. (f) 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2007. (g) 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2000. (h) 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2010. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220 Key: CV<5% * CV > 5% and <= 10% ** CV > 10% and <=20% X Unreliable CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			 Median gross weekly earnings (£, 2013 prices) for employees(a) in York travel to work area, York unitary authority, City of York parliamentary constituency(b) and York Central parliamentary constituency(b) between April 1997 and April 2012 
			  Full-time employees Full-time males Full-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency 
			 1997 *418.1 *418.4 *431.6 *502.8 *511.6 *543.3 *332.4 *331.1 *339.0 
			 1998 441.6 446.3 *471.1 *502.2 *515.1 *536.0 *348.1 *345.3 *360.4 
			 1999 *455.9 *462.7 *487.7 *500.6 *520.9 *531.3 *361.5 *363.7 **364.8 
			 2000 499.4 499.0 *501.6 543.3 *546.7 *551.7 *385.2 *388.0 *397.5 
			 2001 476.1 498.4 502.5 517.1 *538.2 *545.8 *401.7 *406.4 *404.9 
			 2002 508.8 *527.9 *534.2 566.9 592.0 *616.0 *402.3 *403.7 *401.0 
			 2003 512.8 526.8 *540.8 562.3 *580.0 *637.7 *433.7 *435.8 *426.5 
			 2004(c) *538.0 *545.1 *591.7 587.4 *607.7 *641.5 *451.5 *440.4 **445.5 
			 2004(d) 531.4 *539.3 *563.7 564.7 *592.7 *609.7 *456.4 *440.5 *446.8 
			 2005 514.2 523.3 558.8 *549.3 *572.8 *632.7 *449.2 *449.2 *455.4 
			 2006(e) 545.9 561.2 *569.5 584.6 601.2 *608.0 *471.9 *488.6 *487.3 
			 2006(f) 541.7 557.7 *566.4 581.0 595.0 *604.9 *470.1 *483.4 **484.2 
			 2007 *538.5 *556.0 *568.1 *595.6 *602.0 *646.0 *447.3 *473.1 **477.8 
			 2008 536.0 *540.6 *525.9 *570.5 *565.3 *550.8 *473.8 **465.9 **454.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Full-time employees Full-time males Full-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency 
			 2009 544.4 *543.9 *546.8 586.6 *602.5 *576.7 *456.7 *457.1 **511.7 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 531.8 526.1 *509.1 571.0 *556.1 *533.7 *481.7 *492.6 **482.2 
			 2011(g) 507.8 509.6 *503.1 545.7 *546.1 *525.8 *435.2 *444.7 *457.1 
			 2011(h) 503.5 503.8 *494.5 539.6 542.8 *525.2 *430.7 *433.2 *440.4 
			 2012 501.1 *516.4 *517.8 546.4 561.5 *559.9 *426.8 *434.8 *456.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Part-time employees Part-time males Part-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority City of York parliamentary constituency 
			 1997 *121.8 **122.2 **122.1 x x x *123.6 *125.8 **123.1 
			 1998 *123.7 *128.8 *137.8 **114.6 x x *123.7 *130.7 **141.9 
			 1999 *136.0 *136.1 **132.0 x x x *136.1 *137.6 **139.4 
			 2000 *149.1 *151.0 **150.4 x x x *156.7 **158.2 **164.0 
			 2001 **149.5 **148.9 **154.8 x x x **155.5 **155.9 **167.3 
			 2002 *155.8 *154.8 **149.4 x x x *164.3 *165.1 **163.3 
			 2003 *161.8 *158.7 **162.1 **148.4 x x *162.9 **161.6 **161.8 
			 2004(c) *164.4 *163.9 **184.3 x x x *167.2 *167.5 **183.3 
			 2004(d) *157.4 *156.3 **175.2 x x x *160.5 *161.8 **178.6 
			 2005 *156.1 *160.4 *168.8 x x x *160.8 *168.3 *183.5 
			 2006(e) *165.6 *168.1 *181.7 x x x *174.2 *180.1 **183.2 
			 2006(f) *168.6 *170.7 *182.1 x x x *175.8 *180.7 **183.2 
			 2007 *173.9 *175.3 **175.1 x x x *178.2 *178.9 **180.6 
			 2008 *170.8 **174.9 **161.4 x x x *174.9 **176.1 **167.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Part-time employees Part-time males Part-time females 
			  York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency York travel to work area York unitary authority York Central parliamentary constituency 
			 2009 *168.1 *169.4 **179.4 x x x *170.2 *176.3 **183.8 
			 2010 *166.9 **172.1 **190.5 **133.7 x x *173.5 **180.7 **195.0 
			 2011(g) *155.9 *163.3 *182.9 **146.5 x x *157.8 *165.1 **191.2 
			 2011(h) *155.1 *158.9 *179.5 **146.6 x x *156.3 *163.4 **188.7 
			 2012 *147.4 *155.7 **156.5 **120.4 **111.5 x *156.6 *165.3 **158.8 
			 (a) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (b) Parliamentary constituency estimates are given for 'City of York' for 1997 to 2008 and for 'York Central' from 2009 to 2012. These constituencies do not share the same electoral ward boundaries. (c) 2004 results excluding supplementary survey for comparison with 2003. (d) 2004 results including supplementary survey designed to improve coverage of the survey (for more information see ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk). (e) 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2005. (f) 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2007. (g) 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2000. (h) 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2010. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220 Key: CV<5% * CV > 5% and <= 10% ** CV > 10% and <=20% X Unreliable CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics

Business in the Community

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding his Department gave to businesses in the community's business connections scheme in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: In 2011, Cabinet Office provided £272,642 to support Business Connectors pilots in 20 areas.

Employment: Private Sector

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the net change in the number of private sector jobs in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) England has been since 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what the net change in the number of private sector jobs in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) England has been since 2010 (164239).
	Information regarding the number of private sector jobs for parliamentary constituencies is not available. As an alternative, estimates relating to the number of people employed in the private sector have been provided. Employment statistics for local areas are calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period April 2012 to March 2013, the latest period available, and the 12 month period ending in December 2010.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb-co.uk
	
		
			 Number of people employed in the private sector(1) and net change between 12-month periods ending December 2010 and March 2013 
			 Thousand 
			  12 months ending:  
			  December 2010 March 2013(2) Net change(3) between 12-month periods ending December 2010 and March 2013 
			 Barnsley Central 25 (2)28 3 
			 Barnsley 70 (2)77 6 
			 South Yorkshire 415 (1)446 31 
			 England 18,250 (1)19,016 766 
			 (1) Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. (3) Net change is calculated on unrounded numbers. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. CV = Coefficient of Variation. Source: Annual Population Survey.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Francis Maude: Our records show that 340 positions were filled through recruitment competition in 2012-13 against a total staff headcount of 1907 on 31 March 2013. We are finalising resourcing levels for 2013-14 and therefore have not yet assumed a vacancy rate.

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many vending machines in the Prime Minister's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 July 2013, Official Report, column 108W.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much funding the National Citizen Service was allocated in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much funding it will be allocated in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: National Citizen Service funding is calculated by programme year rather than by financial year allocations as the NCS programme runs from January to December.
	The independent evaluation of NCS showed that the cost to government for the 2011 programme was £14.2 million. The cost of the 2012 programme is due to be published shortly as part of the 2012 evaluation. For 2013 and 2014, contracts were awarded for both of these years together—these were worth £190 million in total.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the amount of additional income the providers of the National Citizen Service generated from the (a) private sector and (b) charity sector in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; what amount the providers are expected to generate in (A) 2013-14 and (B) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The independent evaluation of the pilots of the 2011 programme shows that an additional £3 million was raised by providers as in kind support. Information for the 2012 programme will be published as part of the 2012 evaluation.
	For 2013 and 2014 programmes, bidders were invited to demonstrate how they would attract additional funding from private and VCS sectors. This factored into the overall assessments of the value for money offered by bidders.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Construction: Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to Construction 2025 Industrial Strategy: government and industry in partnership, published on 2 July 2013, what steps he is taking to improve standards in health and safety on smaller projects.

Mark Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Construction Division has a dedicated programme of work designed to improve the standards of health and safety on smaller construction projects. This includes proactive inspection of smaller projects. Additionally, HSE works with the industry to delivery free or low cost safety and health awareness events, the provision of easy to use web based guidance and the publication of simple and straightforward guidance. HSE is also currently revising the Construction (Design and Management) regulatory package and accompanying guidance to make it simpler and easier for small businesses to understand and comply with their legal duties.

Food Banks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many food banks the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare Reform has visited since he took office;
	(2)  how many (a) volunteers and (b) service users the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare Reform has met on each of his visits to a food bank since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The Minister for Welfare Reform has not visited any food banks since 2010. Food banks are not part of the welfare system.

Housing Benefit

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much in unspent discretionary housing payments has been returned to the Exchequer by each local authority in Wales in the last five financial years; and what comparative assessment he has made of the proportion of such payments returned by local authorities in (a) Wales and (b) England.

Steve Webb: The following tables show the amount of unspent Government contribution towards discretionary housing payments for each local authority in Wales for the last five financial years. While the Department has not made any comparative assessment between the proportions that has not been used between Wales and England, the tables also include this information.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Government funding unspent 2011-12 Government funding unspent 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Government funding carried forward into 2012-13 Government funding unspent 2012-13 
			 Blaenau Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bridgend 0 4,717 0 8,321 0 29,489 
			 Caerphilly 1,030 18 4,336 5,955 0 0 
			 Cardiff 0 0 42,330 41,206 0 3,363 
			 Carmarthenshire 7,023 2,368 181 25,945 0 31,575 
			 Ceredigion 0 0 0 14,886 0 0 
			 Conwy 0 0 1,345 39,534 0 67,856 
			 Denbighshire 2,676 0 7,112 6,737 0 9,823 
			 Flintshire 0 0 0 5,582 0 10,937 
			 Gwynedd 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Isle of Anglesey 4,465 0 0 7,999 0 25,640 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 0 0 0 9,285 688 29,867 
			 Monmouthshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Neath Port Talbot 0 564 0 0 5,329 25,986 
			 Newport 0 10,130 0 27,036 0 5,587 
			 Pembrokeshire 0 0 6,431 22,000 934 59,230 
			 Powys 0 0 2,364 0 0 5,580 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 5,590 0 0 21,655 0 44,211 
			 Swansea 0 0 0 16,472 0 1 
			 Torfaen 2,141 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 7,827 2,171 520 26,433 0 37,160 
			 Wrexham 0 1,539 120 14,143 0 225 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of Government funding unspent 2011-12 Percentage of Government funding unspent 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Percentage of Government funding carried forward into 2012-13 Percentage of Government funding unspent 2012-13 
			 Wales 3.38 2.21 6.81 20.60 0.49 13.81 
			 England 6.20 5.33 5.30 28.35 2.49 19.18 
			 Source: Claim form returns from local authorities

Pensioners: Social Security Benefits

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual mean benefit income was in (a) cash terms and (b) at current prices for (i) pensioner couples and (ii) single pensioners in (A) Yorkshire and the Humber, (B) England and (C) the UK in (1) the period from 2007-08 to 2009-10, (2) the period from 2008-09 to 2010-11 and (3) each three year period thereafter.

Steve Webb: The latest year of data which is available is for 2010-11. The 2011-12 edition of Pensioners' Incomes Series will be published by the Department of Work and Pensions on Thursday 11 July 2013 at 09:30. If requested the period 2009-10 to 2011-12 can be supplied after publication with earlier three-year periods updated to 2011-12 prices.
	All figures in the following tables are based on the average of three years of data, as a single year's sample would be too small to derive reliable regional estimates.
	Table 1a shows the annual average (mean) benefit income, in cash terms, of pensioner units for each region requested, for the period 2008 to 2011.
	
		
			 Table 1a: Annual average (mean) benefit income of pensioner units by region/county, 2008-09 to 2010-11 (in cash terms) 
			 Benefit income in £ per annum 
			  (i) Pensioner couples (ii) Single pensioners 
			 (A) Yorkshire and the Humber 10,480 8,970 
			 (B) England 10,480 8,780 
			 (C) UK 10,540 8,820 
		
	
	Table 1b shows the annual average (mean) benefit income, in 2010-11 prices, of pensioner units for each region requested, for the period 2008 to 2011.
	
		
			 Table 1b: Annual average (mean) benefit income of pensioner units by region/county, 2008-09 to 2010-11 (in 2010-11 prices) 
			 Benefit income in £ per annum, in 2010-11 prices 
			  (i) Pensioner couples (ii) Single pensioners 
			 (A) Yorkshire and the Humber 10,850 9,280 
			 (B) England 10,840 9,090 
			 (C) UK 10,900 9,120 
		
	
	Table 2a shows the annual average (mean) benefit income, in cash terms, of pensioner units for each region requested, for the period 2007 to 2010.
	
		
			 Table 2a: Annual average (mean) benefit income of pensioner units by region/county, 2007-08 to 2009-10 (in cash terms) 
			 Benefit income in £ per annum 
			  (i) Pensioner couples (ii) Single pensioners 
			 (A) Yorkshire and the Humber 9,890 8,570 
			 (B) England 10,000 8,400 
			 (C) UK 10,050 8,410 
		
	
	Table 2b shows the annual average (mean) benefit income, in 2010-11 prices, of pensioner units for each region requested, for the period 2007 to 2010.
	
		
			 Table 2b: Annual average (mean) benefit income of pensioner units by region/county, 2007-08 to 2009-10 (in 2010/11 prices) 
			 Benefit income in £ per annum, in 2010-11 prices 
			  (i) Pensioner couples (ii) Single pensioners 
			 (A) Yorkshire and the Humber 10,510 9,100 
		
	
	
		
			 (B) England 10,620 8,920 
			 (C) UK 10,680 8,930 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Pensioners' Incomes (PI) Series data sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for years 2006-07 to 2010-11 inclusive. 2. The Pensioners' Incomes Series analysis is for pensioner units, which are defined as either single pensioners (people over state pension age) or pensioner couples (married or cohabiting pensioners where one or more are over state pension age). 3. The SPa is 65 for men born before 6 April 1959. For women born on or before 5 April 1950, SPa is 60. From 6 April 2010, the SPa for women born on or after 6 April 1950 will increase gradually between April 2010 and November 2018. Other changes are planned or have been announced from December 2018 when the state pension age for both men and women will start to increase to reach 66 in October 2020. Further increases to bring the SPa to 67 are proposed to be phased in between 2026 and 2028. 4. Estimates on pensioner incomes are published annually in the Pensioners' Incomes Series available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/pensioners-incomes-series-statistics--3 5. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 6. The reference period for PI figures is the financial year. 7. Annual average (mean) benefit income of pensioner units have been rounded to the nearest £10. 8. Three survey years have been combined because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable. Single year estimates are possible for the United Kingdom; however three-year averages have been supplied as requested and also the estimates for Yorkshire and the Humber, England and the United Kingdom are comparable.

Respite Care

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many respite hours per week parents with children who (a) are autistic, (b) have cerebral palsy and (c) have spina bifida are entitled to;
	(2)  which body or authority ultimately determines whether a parent receives any respite hours when coping with a child who has spina bifida;
	(3)  which body or authority ultimately determines whether a parent receives any respite hours when coping with a child who has cerebral palsy.

Edward Timpson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities are required to provide a range of services to meet the needs of 'children in need' in their area, including disabled children. Where appropriate, section 17 social care assessments will consider and agree services and support for parents and carers where these will help deliver better outcomes for the child.
	Additional duties apply in the case of short breaks, or respite, for carers of disabled children and young people, including conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Under regulations introduced in 2011, local authorities are required, so far as is reasonably practicable, to provide a range of short break services to help carers to continue to provide care, or to do so more effectively. Local authorities must also, in consultation with carers in their area, prepare, publish, and keep under review, a “short breaks services statement”, setting out what services are available, the categories of carer who may be eligible to gain access to them, and how they are designed to meet the needs of carers in the area.
	Based on the resources available to them and their assessment of the individual needs of the disabled child or young person, local authorities decide whether to offer short break services and what form that provision should take. In most cases, it will be possible to agree an appropriate level of short break services but where families cannot reach agreement with local authorities they should use the complaints procedures which local authorities must have in place.
	The Government do not set out minimum levels of short breaks provision but to support local authorities in meeting their duties, we have made available to them over £800 million between April 2011 and March 2015 through un-ring-fenced grants. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, a further £40 million of un-ring-fenced capital funding per annum was allocated to local authorities, allowing them to invest in additional short breaks equipment and infrastructure.

Social Security Benefits

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that claimant data can be shared when two or more separate benefit claims are made by the same claimant.

Mark Hoban: The Department has robust checks in place to protect benefit systems against fraud.
	When a benefit claim is made, our Department's IT systems can identify duplicate claims where there is shared information such as national insurance number, address or date of birth. We also data match with HMRC and local authorities to ensure information is consistent.
	Claimants to benefit need to prove their identity at a number of intervention points, including at the start of their claim to benefit and during any ongoing contact with the Department. This process includes document examination checks to ensure the authenticity of any documentary evidence provided in support of an application; and corroborative checks with third parties, including other Government Departments, to verify information supplied.
	The Department is developing an Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service (IRIS), which will be a central hub of data and intelligence to support counter-fraud activity, and also to reduce error. Stage 1 IRIS went live along with the Universal Credit Pathfinder on 29 April.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of the implementation of weekly signing in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Mark Hoban: Building on the current regime, the spending round for 2015-16 announces a significant reform package, including introducing weekly rather than fortnightly visits to Jobcentres for an increasing number of all jobseekers.
	Introducing the measure outlined in the spending round from April 2015 would have an annual cost of £65 million a year.
	No estimate has been made for the cost of implementation of weekly signing in 2013 and 2014.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library details of the data sources, methodology and calculation he used to establish that net median household earnings before benefits are £500 a week for the purposes of the benefit cap.

Mark Hoban: Benefit payments will be capped at around the median earnings after tax and national insurance for working families. The household benefit cap is set at £500 per week for couple and single parent households, and for single adult households it is £350 per week.
	The figures of £500 and £350 a week were proposed in 2010 and derived using DWP's policy simulation model (a static microsimulation model), which uses the Family Resource Survey (FRS) as its source of information. Based on data from the 2008-09 FRS and assumptions around future earnings growth, median earnings were projected to 2013-14.

Social Security Benefits: Post Offices

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Government has to allow jobseekers and other welfare claimants to be able to register and sign on at post offices; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: There are currently no plans for these to be undertaken in post offices.

Social Services: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding his Department allocated to City of York council for expenditure on social services for people aged 65 years or over in each year from 2008-09 in (a) cash and (b) real terms.

Norman Lamb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	Social care is a local service, delivered by local authorities for their local populations. Local spending on social care is therefore not set by the Department of Health, but determined by councils, according to their local priorities and pressures. The best source of information on spending decision in York is the council itself.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government also publishes expenditure data for local authorities, which is available online at gov.uk.

Telephone Services

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department receives any financial or non-financial benefit from its telephone providers for telephone lines that (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible operate, including but not limited to (i) a share of call revenue, (ii) a reduction in the Department's telephone bill or tariff and (iii) telephony services for free or at a reduced price.

Mark Hoban: The Department procures its services on a competitive basis and receives no direct benefit from call revenue earned by its suppliers.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the benefit savings made as a result of the job outcomes achieved by the Work programme from June 2011 to March 2013 and (b) the benefit spending which would have been incurred if there had been no programme in that period.

Mark Hoban: It is too early to make an assessment of the impact of the Work programme. This will be considered as part of the evaluation.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department allocated for (a) attachment, (b) job outcome and (c) sustainment to Work programme providers between June 2011 to March 2013.

Mark Hoban: The 2012-13 budget for all Employment Programmes is due to be published in the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts and the Work programme figures are part of that amount. For the period of June 2011 to March 2012 these figures are included within the £1,015 million budget already published in the 2011-12 Departmental Annual Report and Accounts.

JUSTICE

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average waiting time for an employment and support allowance appeal was in (a) the UK and (b) Hull for each of the last 24 months; and what proportion of such appeals were successful.

Helen Grant: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to social security and child support are heard by the First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	The SSCS tribunal covers Great Britain but not Northern Ireland, which has its own Appeals Service.
	The following tables show the average waiting time for employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals and the proportion found in favour of the appellant from April 2011 to March 2013 (the latest 24-month period for which statistics have been published) for (a) Great Britain and (b) the SSCS venue in Hull. These show that waiting times nationally have reduced since April 2011.
	HMCTS has significantly increased its venue capacity by 27% over 2012-13, utilising hearing capacity across the court and tribunal estate. We have continued to increase the use of Saturday sessions and are developing pilots with the tribunal's judiciary to increase session flexibility throughout the tribunal.
	Almost 200 additional fee-paid judges were recruited in 2012-13 and will be trained between June and September. Working with the Senior President and Chamber President, we proposed to the Judicial Appointments Commission an accelerated recruitment process for medical members. This has resulted in a record number of 230 candidates being appointed, with 20 further offers of appointment awaiting a response. These members will also be trained between June and September. The additional judicial and medical members will be a significant factor in HMCTS' efforts to deliver increased levels of appeal disposals throughout 2013-14.
	
		
			 (a) Average clearance times and outcomes for ESA appeals Great Britain April 2011 to March 2013 
			  Average clearance time in weeks for all disposals Total number of appeals cleared at hearing only Number of decisions in favour of the appellant cleared at hearing Percentage in favour of the appellant cleared at hearing 
			 2011     
			 April 23.22 12,888 4,891 38 
			 May 24.53 13,529 5,107 38 
			 June 24.19 14,459 5,394 37 
			 July 24.59 13,944 5,215 37 
			 August 24.27 13,852 5,225 38 
			 September 24.22 14,062 5,262 37 
			 October 24.23 14,333 5,572 39 
			 November 22.33 15,353 5,968 39 
			 December 21.49 12,061 4,643 38 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 23.06 14,397 5.816 40 
			 February 22.48 14,660 6,100 42 
			 March 22.89 14,507 6,215 43 
			 April 19.76 13,860 5,803 42 
			 May 18.86 15.510 6.629 43 
			 June 18.35 15,079 6,301 42 
			 July 17.56 17,703 7,376 42 
			 August 17.25 18,576 8,015 43 
			 September 17.59 16,976 7,080 42 
			 October 16.89 20,667 8,626 42 
			 November 17.16 20,846 8,937 43 
			 December 16.70 16,764 7,185 43 
			      
			 2013     
			 January 17.74 22,958 9,870 43 
			 February 2013 17.10 22,426 9,764 44 
			 March 2013 16.86 23,024 9,959 43 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Average clearance times and outcomes for ESA appeals at the Hull SSCS venue April 2011 to March 2013 
			  Average clearance time in weeks for all disposals Total number of appeals cleared at hearing only Number of decisions in favour of the appellant cleared at hearing Percentage in favour of the appellant cleared at hearing 
			 2011     
			 April 17.95 60 15 25 
			 May 24.99 56 20 36 
			 June 23.68 67 26 39 
			 July 19.37 88 40 45 
			 August 23.84 105 37 35 
			 September 22.81 87 27 31 
			 October 20.77 95 33 35 
			 November 21.77 88 29 33 
			 December 19.32 96 29 30 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 19.00 88 26 30 
			 February 19.48 70 31 44 
		
	
	
		
			 March 19.15 91 34 37 
			 April 18.70 48 14 29 
			 May 21.28 75 24 32 
			 June 23.42 62 19 31 
			 July 23.07 47 17 36 
			 August 21.90 66 23 35 
			 September 27.85 73 29 40 
			 October 21.82 66 19 29 
			 November 25.07 77 27 35 
			 December 19.35 41 17 41 
			      
			 2013     
			 January 26.42 86 38 44 
			 February 23.33 86 27 31 
			 March 21.17 105 47 45 
		
	
	Details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale reporting system. The data may differ slightly to those of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date.
	The above data include figures for cases attributable to Hull venue irrespective of where they were heard. The facility to provide this information has been available since February 2013 and has been applied retrospectively. Figures may therefore differ slightly to those provided previously.
	The number of appeals received by the SSCS tribunal nationally has risen significantly: from 339,200 in 2009-10 to 507,100 in 2012-13 (an increase of 49%). In addition to local initiatives, such as identifying additional hearing venues across HMCTS estate, and increasing the use of Saturday sessions, HMCTS continues to respond strongly at a national level to continue to increase the capacity of the SSCS tribunal and reduce waiting times. Measures in place include ongoing recruitment of additional judges and medically qualified members and the review and continuous improvement of administrative processes both internally and between HMCTS and DWP. All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 465,500 in 2012-13 (an increase of 66%).
	The average waiting time for all appeals heard by the SSCS has fallen nationally from 23 weeks in 2011-12 to 18 weeks in 2012-13. Within the overall national figures, there will be some hearing centres where practical constraints mean that it takes longer to deliver improvement.
	In Hull the waiting time has increased from 19 weeks in 2011-12 to 22 weeks in 2012-13. The increased workload requires further venue space and tribunal medical members in Hull, both of which take time to put in place. The geographical position of Hull also makes it harder to offer alternative venues or to move resources.
	A number of steps to improve this position have been taken. Specifically, the number of sessions listed at the Hull venue has increased by 10% over the period January - May 2013, compared to the previous five months. A different listing practice to be introduced in July, and an additional hearing room secured at Hull magistrates court from August, will increase capacity further. It is anticipated clearances will be doubled in the short term. In addition, from October there will be newly recruited and fully trained medical and judicial members to allow increased listing of appeals including at a further additional venue Beverley.

Fraud

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been prosecuted in magistrates courts for providing false information relating to their financial circumstances in each of the last five years; and how many of those prosecutions related to applications for legal aid.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to “dishonestly making a false representation to make a gain for oneself or another or to cause loss to another or to expose another to risk” in each of the last five years from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	However, it is not possible from centrally held data to separately analyse which of these prosecutions related to applications for legal aid.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for dishonestly making a false representation to make a gain for oneself or another or to cause loss to another or to expose another to risk(1), 2008-12(2,3) 
			  Number 
			 2008(4) 5,718 
			 2009 8,530 
			 2010 9,395 
			 2011(5) 9,184 
			 2012 8,666 
			 (1) An offence under Section 2 of the Fraud Act, which came into force on 15 January 2007. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (5) Following further validation and receipt of additional magistrates court records, a number of revisions have been made to previously published 2011 information. As such, 2011 figures may not match what was previously provided. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Homicide

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on employment protection for people bereaved by a homicide.

Helen Grant: Victim Support's national Homicide Service caseworkers provide support and guidance to bereaved families, including helping them inform employers about their situation and accessing legal advice. It is for the employers to decide, taking into account someone's contract of employment and any relevant legal requirements, the position they take in respect of employees who find themselves bereaved by homicide.

Legal Aid Scheme

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his Department's transforming legal aid proposals on the number of people in receipt of legal aid in (a) England and Wales,  (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the ‘Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system’ consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	Five impact assessments have been written in relation to this consultation and they address the numbers of legal aid recipients that would potentially be affected by these proposals. The impact assessments are as follows:
	1) Civil Credibility Impact Assessment
	2) Crime Credibility Impact Assessment
	3) Civil Fees Impact Assessment
	4) Crime Fees Impact Assessment
	5) Criminal Litigation Price Competition Impact Assessment
	They are all available to download from the Consultation webpage which can be found here:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid
	The analysis supporting this was undertaken at the national level, rather than at the regional level.

Legal Aid Scheme

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total value of legal aid contribution orders made in the Crown court in each of the last five years was; and what proportion of those costs were successfully recovered.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is working to improve Crown court means testing performance, including encouraging greater compliance with evidential requirements, and improving collection and enforcement rates.
	Current proposals include the introduction of motor vehicle order (MVO) regulations and a new financial eligibility threshold in the Crown court of £37,500. The introduction of MVO regulations would allow the LAA to apply to the court for a clamping order and, subsequently, to apply for an order for sale of the vehicle if the defendant was convicted and had still not settled their liabilities. The new financial eligibility threshold of £37,500 or more annual disposable household income would ensure that wealthy individuals are no longer automatically provided with legal aid up-front at public expense.
	As at 31 March 2013, the Crown court means testing scheme had successfully recovered £9.6 million (22%) of the £43.6 million total crystallised contribution order value, since its inception in January 2010.

Legal Aid Scheme

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many representations he has received from organisations, companies and individuals on his legal aid reform consultation in the last six months.

Jeremy Wright: For a list of meetings my ministerial colleagues, officials, and I have undertaken since October 2012 I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz), PQ 158068, 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 480-84W.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the desirable ratio of firms who provide legal aid to people seeking such aid.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	As set out in the consultation paper, in determining the optimum number of contracts in each procurement area we considered that the following were the key factors:
	Sufficient supply to deal with potential conflicts of interest
	Sufficient case volume to allow fixed fee schemes to work
	Market agility
	Sustainable procurement
	The detailed rationale that underpins each of these four key factors is outlined in paragraph 4.64 of the consultation paper and we sought views on this element of the proposal.
	This approach would entail a significant reduction in the number of contracts in each procurement area. A detailed breakdown of the illustrative number of contracts based on the LAA administrative data on legal aid claims in the period October 2010 to September 2011 in each procurement area is set out in the consultation paper.
	It is important to highlight that while the proposal would entail a significant reduction in the number of contracts, under the proposed model applicants could be individual organisations, a joint venture or an alternative business structure. Applicants could choose to deliver the service themselves and/or through the use of agents. The LAA would ensure that all contractors are able to deliver the case volume capacity for which they have applied.
	We are now carefully considering all responses to this proposal.

Legal Aid Scheme

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has given to the rights of children as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in developing his proposals for criminal legal aid.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	We are clear we will continue to uphold everyone's right to a fair trial. Quality assured lawyers will still be available—just as they are now. The Legal Aid Agency would ensure as part of the tendering process that all providers are capable of delivering the full range of criminal legal aid services under contract across their procurement areas. We consider the proposals are in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.

Legal Aid Scheme

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he will take to ensure that child victims of trafficking have access to appropriately qualified solicitors under his proposals for criminal legal aid.

Jeremy Wright: Child victims of trafficking will continue to have access to criminal legal aid services if they are accused of committing a crime. In relation to civil legal aid only, we have proposed that in future applicants would have to satisfy a residence test in order to be eligible for civil legal aid. Immigrants, including victims of trafficking and domestic violence, would be exempted from the residence test in cases where they were seeking to claim asylum. The proposed residency test would not apply to applications for criminal legal aid.

Legal Aid Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of planned changes to legal aid on family courts.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation.
	Five impact assessments were published alongside the consultation paper and these can be accessed online here:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid
	The consultation asked for responses on where potential impacts may have been missed and officials are now analysing these responses.
	The 2013 civil legal aid tender was heavily oversubscribed suggesting there remains a strong appetite to undertake legal aid work. The impact of the proposed reduction in the fixed representation fee paid to solicitors in public law family cases will depend on the individual reaction of individual solicitor firms. However, the current significant reduction in the average duration of care cases combined with the expected further reduction in the amount of work needed on each case as a result of reforms stemming from the Family Justice Review suggests that the fixed representation fee no longer represents value for money for the taxpayer.
	In addition, family public law proceedings currently represent the largest area of expert fee spend. It is anticipated that there will be a reduction in the need for experts resulting from reforms stemming from the Family Justice Review. It is possible, therefore, that fewer experts will be needed. The reaction of the market to this expected reduction is unclear but it is also possible that there will be more competition between experts for the reduced work that will remain available. Overall we are currently satisfied that sufficient experts are likely to remain in the market to satisfy expected future demand. However, we are in the process of analysing the responses to the consultation and will consider all views before final decisions are taken.

Legal Aid Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date he plans to bring forward secondary legislation to implement policy changes arising from his Department's consultation, Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	The indicative timetable for implementation of the proposals for crime competition is set out in paragraph 4.153 of the consultation document. We will ensure all necessary legislation is introduced in time to implement the final proposals.
	The timetable for reducing the fixed representation fees paid to solicitors in family cases covered by the Care Proceedings Graduated Fee Scheme is set out in paragraph 6.13 of the consultation document.
	If the proposals on which we consulted were to be implemented, we anticipate laying the necessary legislation in autumn 2013. We are currently considering all responses to the consultation before final decisions are taken and no firm dates have yet been set.

Legal Aid Scheme

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the reforms to legal aid proposed in his Department's consultation on transforming legal aid.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	The Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Education have not had a meeting together where the Transforming Legal Aid consultation was discussed. However, the Secretary of State for Education was consulted—in writing—in advance of the consultation being published through the normal Cabinet clearance mechanisms.

Legal Aid Scheme

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has made of future changes in fees for experts within the legal aid budget.

Jeremy Wright: With pressure to meet continuing fiscal challenges, and the need to deliver further savings in legal aid, we proposed that fees to experts be reduced by 20% as part of our recent consultation on Legal Aid Transformation. This proposal was based on consideration of fees paid to experts elsewhere in Government which suggested that legal aid fees were generally higher than elsewhere.
	The Legal Aid Transformation consultation exercise closed on 4 June. A significant number of responses were received to the consultation and analysis of those responses is currently under way. Final decisions have yet to be reached on any of the proposed reforms, including that proposed to expert fees.

Magistrates Courts: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what factors he took into account in the decision to close Coventry magistrates court; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: No decision has been taken about the future of Coventry magistrates court. HMCTS continues to keep the use of its estate under review to ensure it meets operational requirements.

Misconduct: Sentencing

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what sentences have been imposed on people found guilty of committing an offence of (a) misconduct in public office and (b) conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office since 2005.

Jeremy Wright: A breakdown of those found guilty and sentenced, with sentence breakdown by disposal, for offences of “misconduct in public life by act or omission” in England and Wales for 2005-12 can be viewed in the table.
	Misconduct in public office is unacceptable and this Government is committed to ensuring that all those guilty of this offence are brought to justice.
	
		
			 Offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences of 'misconduct in public office by act or omission'(1,2), England and Wales,2005-12(3,4) 
			  2005 2006 2007 2008(5) 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Found guilty 4 28 20 13 18 35 27 52 
			 Sentenced 4 28 20 13 18 35 27 52 
			 Of which:         
			 Immediate custody 2 18 10 11 14 30 25 35 
			 Suspended sentence — 5 8 2 2 2 — 16 
			 Community sentence — 5 2 — 1 2 1 — 
			 Fine — — — — — — — 1 
			 Conditional discharge 2 — — — 1 1 — — 
			 Absolute discharge — — — — — — 1 — 
			 (1) An offence under Common Law In England and Wales. (2) All attempts to commit offences, conspiracies to commit offences, charges of participation in offences as accessories after the fact and charges of participation in offences by impeding the apprehension or prosecution of the offender should be classified under the heading of the offence itself, except in certain cases where separate headings are given in the list. (3) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Parole

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on seeking input from families of victims when an application for parole has been considered.

Helen Grant: Victims who have opted in to the statutory Probation Victim Contact Scheme for victims of serious violent and sexual offences where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more, will be informed of a Parole Board review and offered the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS). The VPS provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the offence has affected them or their family, both at the time it was committed and since, and how they think the offender's release would affect them. The VPS can contribute to a better and more informed hearing, as it may enable more robust questioning of the offender about the offence, remorse and victim empathy.
	If an oral hearing is held, the victim or their family members may request to attend to read their VPS in person, or, where the facilities are available, may request to read their VPS via videolink.
	Under the new Code of Practice for Victims of Crime due for publication later in the year, probation trusts will have a duty to ensure that victims are offered the opportunity to make a VPS and that it is forwarded to the Parole Board in time for it to be read by the panel, and the Parole Board will have a duty to read the VPS when making the decision.
	If victims have evidence that the offender may present an ongoing risk to them, they can submit this through their probation victim liaison officer, who will pass that evidence to the offender manager to be addressed in the offender manager's report to the Parole Board, which is one of the key documents used to assess the prisoner's suitability for release. The Parole Board must consider any information about the victim which relates directly to the current risk presented by the offender.
	Victims are also statutorily able to make representations to the Parole Board about the licence conditions to which an offender will be subject on release, such as a condition prohibiting the offender from contacting them or their family members, or an exclusion zone prohibiting them entering areas in which they live or work for example. If the Parole Board does not include a condition which was requested by the victim, they must provide reasons for this.
	The purpose of a review is to assist the Parole Board determine whether the risk presented by a prisoner, including to victims, is such that he may be safely managed in the community. If the Parole Board is not so satisfied, it will not direct the release of the offender.

Prisoners’ Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on informing the family of a murder victim about the release from custody of the person convicted of that murder.

Helen Grant: The families of murder victims have a statutory right to be offered access to the Probation Victim Contact Scheme. The Scheme is for victims bereaved by murder, as well as for victims of violent and sexual offences where the offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, or a hospital order. The Scheme is delivered by victim liaison officers employed by probation trusts.
	Victims who opt in to the Victim Contact Scheme are told of key stages in the offender's sentence, such as the offender's forthcoming parole review, and the outcome of that review, whether the Parole Board has directed the offender's release, recommended his transfer to open conditions or declined to do either.
	Victims also have a statutory right to make representations about licence conditions to which the offender will be subject on release. These can include a no-contact condition and an exclusion zone prohibiting the offender from entering areas where victims live, work and into which they travel frequently. Victims will be told which conditions included on the licence relate to them.

Prisoners’ Transfers

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoner transfers were made from each prison establishment in England and Wales in each week from November 2012 to May 2013.

Jeremy Wright: The information available on transfers to court from individual prison establishments in each month during the period 1 November 2012 to 30 April 2013 is set out in the following table. Figures are not collected centrally on a weekly basis and obtaining them would incur disproportionate cost. The table also includes total monthly figures for the number of transfers from one prison establishment to another during the period; however, figures disaggregated to establishment level are not readily available and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. Figures for May 2013 are not yet available.
	
		
			 Prisoner transfers from prison to court, by establishment, and total inter-prison transfers, November 2012 to April 2013 
			 Prisoners delivered to court from HMP 
			  2012 2013  
			 Prison November December January February March April Total 
			 HMP Acklington 9 7 4 6 8 12 46 
			 HMP Albany 13 24 14 0 15 12 78 
			 HMP Altcourse 393 324 458 446 433 324 2,378 
			 HMP Askham Grange 1 0 3 1 2 2 9 
			 HMP Aylesbury 5 10 1 5 0 6 27 
			 HMP Bedford 332 269 361 299 330 330 1,921 
			 HMP Belmarsh 729 507 818 783 383 699 3,919 
			 HMP Birmingham 831 556 629 525 547 467 3,555 
			 HMP Blundeston 8 11 7 9 10 9 54 
			 HMP Bristol 273 217 236 238 316 393 1,673 
			 HMP Brixton 13 11 11 11 360 14 420 
			 HMP Bronzefield 285 245 223 180 183 272 1,388 
			 HMP Buckley Hall 13 4 13 7 12 11 60 
			 HMP Bullingdon 351 275 296 295 243 298 1,758 
			 HMP Bullwood Hall 6 3 2 5 4 0 20 
			 HMP Bure (A) 2 2 5 2 2 0 13 
			 HMP Camp Hill 7 6 9 0 0 0 22 
			 HMP Canterbury 11 5 6 1 0 0 23 
			 HMP Cardiff 421 321 347 315 337 359 2,100 
			 HMP Channings Wood 12 8 10 6 7 8 51 
			 HMP Chelmsford 272 202 327 266 289 242 1,598 
			 HMP Coldingley 5 5 13 10 7 7 47 
			 HMP Cookham Wood 85 78 76 81 53 52 425 
			 HMP Dartmoor 9 7 6 6 5 9 42 
			 HMP Doncaster 380 371 416 483 505 499 2,654 
			 HMP Dorchester 103 65 63 68 94 99 492 
			 HMP Dovegate 115 110 154 135 135 171 820 
			 HMP Downview 25 7 13 12 9 4 70 
			 HMP Drake Hall 8 10 7 6 5 11 47 
			 HMP Durham 421 309 309 306 363 376 2,084 
			 HMP East Sutton Park 2 2 1 1 0 1 7 
			 HMP Eastwood Park 125 102 130 116 109 117 699 
			 HMP Elmley 465 360 428 448 397 439 2,537 
			 HMP Erlestoke House 5 4 5 7 7 11 39 
			 HMP Everthorpe 12 5 8 13 17 11 66 
			 HMP Exeter 247 207 228 170 217 224 1,293 
			 HMP Featherstone 14 21 12 10 14 11 82 
			 HMP Ford 1 3 1 4 5 2 16 
			 HMP Forest Bank 602 505 594 490 481 547 3,219 
			 HMP Foston Hall 106 59 67 54 62 67 415 
			 HMP Frankland 6 6 8 3 6 3 32 
		
	
	
		
			 HMP Full Sutton 2 3 0 3 3 1 12 
			 HMP Garth 11 5 3 9 4 6 38 
			 HMP Gartree 3 3 1 4 2 4 17 
			 HMP Gloucester 87 77 84 11 0 0 259 
			 HMP Guys Marsh 8 11 7 8 12 16 62 
			 HMP Hatfield 2 1 2 0 1 3 9 
			 HMP Haverigg 2 11 3 6 1 4 27 
			 HMP Hewell 351 276 387 441 447 376 2,278 
			 HMP High Down 576 455 471 458 405 406 2,771 
			 HMP Highpoint 21 12 23 19 21 15 111 
			 HMP Hollesley Bay 0 0 1 0 1 2 4 
			 HMP Holloway 234 126 222 231 211 195 1,219 
			 HMP Holme House 283 219 246 227 245 295 1,515 
			 HMP Hull 272 256 316 262 321 257 1,684 
			 HMP IOW — — — 37 0 0 37 
			 HMP Isis 10 7 10 5 9 15 56 
			 HMP Kennet 12 6 2 2 4 4 30 
			 HMP Kingston 1 2 0 1 0 0 4 
			 HMP Kirkham 10 6 4 7 6 7 40 
			 HMP Kirklevington Grange 1 1 2 4 1 2 11 
			 HMP Leeds 476 365 513 454 434 430 2,672 
			 HMP Leicester 185 158 173 163 200 136 1,015 
			 HMP Lewes 310 255 344 318 284 235 1,746 
			 HMP Leyhill 7 1 5 2 5 4 24 
			 HMP Lincoln 120 79 102 92 87 80 560 
			 HMP Lindholme 14 9 18 15 20 31 107 
			 HMP Littlehey 19 7 14 12 18 22 92 
			 HMP Liverpool 434 361 299 291 307 243 1,935 
			 HMP Long Lartin 1 3 0 0 3 7 14 
			 HMP Lowdham Grange 10 14 21 17 23 8 93 
			 HMP Maidstone 6 2 6 4 5 9 32 
			 HMP Manchester 524 347 442 372 386 398 2,469 
			 HMP New Hall 75 73 55 62 79 78 422 
			 HMP North Sea Camp 2 0 1 2 4 4 13 
			 HMP Norwich 264 308 331 338 281 316 1,838 
			 HMP Nottingham 483 434 490 474 441 470 2,792 
			 HMP Oakwood — — 17 13 20 24 74 
			 HMP Parc 103 77 97 94 85 106 562 
			 HMP Parkhurst 2 5 2 0 3 0 12 
			 HMP Pentonville 808 624 720 906 689 887 4,634 
			 HMP Peterborough (A) 218 158 208 184 191 166 1,125 
			 HMP Peterborough (Female) 72 72 108 84 100 148 584 
			 HMP Prescoed 4 2 0 1 2 6 15 
			 HMP Preston 234 197 253 190 196 225 1,295 
			 HMP Ranby 16 18 23 24 19 28 128 
			 HMP Risley 24 10 12 18 18 11 93 
			 HMP Rochester 17 9 16 11 7 10 70 
			 HMP Rye Hill 6 3 7 7 7 3 33 
			 HMP Send 5 3 6 4 2 3 23 
			 HMP Shepton Mallet 1 1 9 5 0 0 16 
			 HMP Shrewsbury 4 2 14 1 0 0 21 
			 HMP Spring Hill 3 1 3 4 2 2 15 
			 HMP Stafford 21 9 19 9 16 7 81 
			 HMP Standford Hill 2 4 9 3 3 6 27 
			 HMP Stocken 11 13 11 19 11 26 91 
			 HMP Styal 127 100 74 80 101 135 617 
			 HMP Sudbury 4 8 10 4 8 3 37 
			 HMP Swaleside 16 5 13 12 18 10 74 
			 HMP Swansea 156 94 101 118 124 145 738 
			 HMP Thameside 529 415 522 594 58 655 2,773 
			 HMP The Mount 9 6 11 12 16 8 62 
			 HMP The Verne 4 5 4 6 6 16 41 
		
	
	
		
			 HMP The Wolds 7 0 6 6 6 7 32 
			 HMP Thorn Cross 1 2 1 2 1 3 10 
			 HMP Usk 3 4 4 2 2 3 18 
			 HMP Wakefield 2 0 2 1 1 5 11 
			 HMP Wandsworth 778 640 852 770 670 846 4,556 
			 HMP Wayland (A) 10 10 18 12 8 9 67 
			 HMP Wealstun 16 11 15 6 20 26 94 
			 HMP Whatton 2 4 3 4 1 2 16 
			 HMP Whitemoor 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 
			 HMP Winchester 353 263 382 320 313 373 2,004 
			 HMP Woodhill 296 255 282 194 211 248 1,486 
			 HMP Wormwood Scrubs 933 591 734 701 857 769 4,585 
			 HMP Wymott 6 9 11 10 6 7 49 
			 HMYOI Ashfield 80 50 62 35 28 10 265 
			 HMYOI Brinsford 132 118 115 141 124 107 737 
			 HMYOI Castington 2 1 6 1 2 0 12 
			 HMYOI Deerbolt 12 7 7 13 8 4 51 
			 HMYOI Feltham A 177 115 117 118 250 200 977 
			 HMYOI Feltham B 413 328 333 338 567 438 2,417 
			 HMYOI Glen Parva 134 93 137 106 135 154 759 
			 HMYOI Hindley 90 77 92 64 54 71 448 
			 HMYOI Huntercombe 4 13 8 12 7 12 56 
			 HMYOI Lancaster Farms 12 11 11 7 13 6 60 
			 HMYOI Low Newton 67 56 54 58 67 63 365 
			 HMYOI Moorland 6 7 2 4 7 7 33 
			 HMYOI Moorland Closed 0 0 4 1 2 4 11 
			 HMYOI Northallerton 1 5 3 5 6 7 27 
			 HMYOI Norwich 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 HMYOI Onley 12 5 16 12 9 16 70 
			 HMYOI Portland 9 3 3 4 12 18 49 
			 HMYOI Reading 109 66 102 112 92 73 554 
			 HMYOI Stoke Heath 20 16 12 12 17 13 90 
			 HMYOI Swinfen Hall 8 4 12 8 13 11 56 
			 HMYOI Warren Hill 63 28 50 32 62 43 278 
			 HMYOI Werrington 83 43 64 60 50 67 367 
			 HMYOI Wetherby 101 62 92 67 57 77 456 
			         
			 Inter-prison transfers 6,372 4,903 6,222 6,696 5,819 5,730 35,742

Prisons: Visits

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoner-to-prisoner visits there were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jeremy Wright: Inter-prison visits are only allowed in exceptional circumstances, and no conjugal visits are permitted. All visits are risk assessed and prison governors reserve the right to refuse any application. Any costs relating to inter-prison visits are met locally by individual prisons.
	The number of inter-prison visits from establishments in England and Wales recorded as having taken place in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of inter-prison visits completed from prison establishments in England and Wales for 2010, 2011 and 2012 
			  Total 
			 2010 35 
			 2011 60 
			 2012 49 
			 Total 144 
		
	
	Data have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.

Procurement

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the suspension of his Department's end user computing and common services contract on the proposals in the Transforming the Criminal Justice System strategy.

Damian Green: The impact of the cancellation of the procurement of a new end user computing contract for the Department has been assessed and it is anticipated that there will be a minor delay in contracting for these services. It is planned for some if not all of this delay to be recovered in the transition phase from our old contracts to the new contract, and therefore impact on the wider Transformation programme is expected to be minimal.

Sexual Offences: Trials

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to introduce specialist courts to try offences (a) of child sexual abuse and (b) all sexual offences.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice published a Transforming the CJS Strategy and Action Plan on 28 June 2013. As part of this, the Government has committed to consider the way sexual offences are investigated and prosecuted and to identify what further action is required to improve the CJS response to these crimes. We will report on our considerations by November 2013.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Churches: Bats

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what the policy of the Church Commissioners is on dealing with bats in churches; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Baldry: The Church of England has some 6,400 churches with bats living in them. While small numbers of bats can easily co-exist with church congregations, where there are large roosts the effect on the congregation and fabric of the building can be intolerable.
	The Church recognises that for an increasing number of parish churches many bat roosts have now become so large that they are disruptive to the life of the parish and the wider community who regularly use the building. In these situations extensive and regular cleaning is required to allow the church to continue to be in active public use at great expense to the parish. Sensitive cleaning and conservation work is also required to protect nationally important monuments and treasures from becoming stained or corroded.
	The Church encourages all parishes to engage productively with all interested parties; however, recognition needs to be made that these buildings are open to the public on a daily basis, are places where food is often served and an appropriate level of hygiene will be expected.
	St Hilda’s, Ellerburn is one of the worst affected churches in the country. In 2011 the parish took the unprecedented step of closing the church and worshipping in a tent in the churchyard, having come to the view that the church building was no longer a clean and welcoming environment. This situation is not one the Church of England would like to see replicated in other churches and it is attempting to seek resolution through ongoing conversations with the Government and Natural England.

EDUCATION

Academic Year

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the expected benefits of allowing schools to vary term dates are.

Elizabeth Truss: This freedom will enable all schools to organise the school year in a way that best suits the education of their pupils. It will also allow them to be more responsive to parents' needs.

Academic Year

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received regarding concerns over proposals to allow schools to vary term dates.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department consulted informally with head teachers, local authorities and head teacher unions. There was support for the proposals, but recognition that schools will need to act reasonably. This included considering parents' views before making any changes, giving sufficient notice of those changes, and putting local co-ordination arrangements in place.

Academies Capital Maintenance Fund

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each school has received under the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund in each year of that fund's operation; and in which parliamentary constituency is each such school based.

David Laws: 967 academies have received allocations totalling over £430 million through the first two years of the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund. I have placed details of the individual amounts allocated to academies to date in the Library.
	A further £325 million has also been allocated to 789 academies in the current financial year 2013-14. The Department will publish details of these allocations in the autumn. A second round of this year's fund is currently open for applications from the most recent converter academies.

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department will spend on free child care for disadvantaged two-year-olds in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Elizabeth Truss: Following the conclusion of the spending round on 26 June 2013, we will finalise the Department's 2014-15 budgets and set 2015-16 budgets as part of our internal business planning process. The 2014-15 local authority funding allocations for early learning for two-year-olds will be published later in the autumn.

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the value of local authority Early Years advisers to private, voluntary and independent Early Years child care providers.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department recently consulted on the role of the local authority in early years and child care. We received a large number of responses from a range of organisations and local authorities, including on the role of early years advisers. We will publish our response in due course.

Departmental Responsibilities

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent priorities have been set for his Department by the Prime Minister; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education provided a list of the Department's priorities to the Education Select Committee earlier this year(1). A copy will be placed in the House Library.
	(1) http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselec t/cmeduc/writev/ministerialpriorities.pdf

Education: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in state education in (a) York local authority area and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber region achieved (i) Level 2 or above in Key Stage 1 SATS, (ii) Level 4 or above in Key Stage 2 English and mathematics tests and (iii) five or more GCSE grades A*-C in each year since 1995-96.

Elizabeth Truss: Statistics for pupils achieving Level 2 or above at the end of key stage 1 and Level 4 or above at the end of key stage 2. in English and mathematics in York local authority and the Yorkshire and Humber region for 1997/98 to 2011/12 are in tables 1 and 2. The measures are not available prior to 1997/98.
	Statistics for pupils achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalents at A*-C grades at the end of key stage 4 in York local authority and the Yorkshire and Humber region for 1995/96 to 2011/12 are provided in table 3.
	
		
			 Table 1: Percentage of pupils(1) achieving Level 2 or above at key stage 1 assessments for York local authority (LA) and Yorkshire and the Humber region. Year: 1997/98 to 2011/12. Coverage: England. School type: State-funded schools (including academies)(2) 
			    Reading Writing Maths 
			  Result Type Data Type York LA Yorkshire and the Humber York LA Yorkshire and the Humber York LA Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1997/98(3) Task/test Final 83 79 83 81 88 84 
			 1998/99 Task/test Final 84 81 85 82 89 86 
			 1999/2000 Task/test Final 87 83 88 84 93 89 
			 2000/01 Task/test Final 87 84 88 86 92 90 
			 2001/02 Task/test Final 86 84 88 86 90 90 
			 2002/03 Task/test Final 87 84 83 81 92 90 
			 2003/04 Task/test Final 88 84 81 81 90 90 
			 2004/05 TA Final 87 84 82 82 91 90 
			 2005/06 TA Provisional 88 83 84 80 90 89 
			 2006/07 TA Provisional 88 82 85 78 92 88 
			 2007/08 TA Provisional 86 82 83 78 91 87 
			 2008/09 TA Provisional 90 83 86 79 92 88 
			 2009/10 TA Provisional 88 83 84 79 91 88 
			 2010/11 TA Final 88 83 83 79 91 88 
			 2011/12 TA Provisional 88 85 82 81 89 89 
			 (1) Includes pupils who achieved Level 2 (including Levels 2A, 2B or 2C), Level 3 or Level 4. Level 2 is the expected level of achievement for pupils at the end of key stage 1. (2) Includes schools with pupils eligible for assessment at key stage 1. (3) Data only available from 1997/98. Source: Key stage 1 collection. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above in key stage 2 English and maths tests for York local authority (LA) and Yorkshire and the Humber region. Year: 1997/98 to 2011/12(1).Coverage: England, state-funded schools (including academies and city technology colleges)(2) 
			   English Maths 
			  Data type York LA Yorkshire and the Humber York LA Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1997/98(3) Final 70 61 65 56 
			 1998/99 Final 76 67 75 67 
			 1999/2000 Final 78 72 74 70 
			 2000/01 Final 79 72 75 69 
			 2001/02 Final 78 72 76 72 
			 2002/03 Final 75 73 74 71 
			 2003/04 Final 81 76 79 73 
			 2004/05 Final 81 77 78 74 
			 2005/06 Revised 81 77 78 74 
			 2006/07 Revised 84 79 81 76 
			 2007/08 Revised 85 80 79 78 
			 2008/09 Revised 81 78 80 78 
			 2009/10 Revised 84 80 83 81 
			 2010/11 Revised 82 80 83 79 
			 2011/12(4) Revised 85 83 85 82 
			 (1) 2010/11 and 2011/12 figures are produced from the National Pupil Database. Figures for all other years are produced from the Primary School Performance Tables data. (2) Figures for academies are included (where applicable) in the individual LA figures but figures exclude hospital schools and pupil referral units. (3) Data only available from 1997/98. (4) In 2011/12, English was calculated from reading test results and writing teacher assessment rather than from reading and writing tests as in previous years. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Percentage of pupils(1) at the end of key stage 4 achieving(2) 5 or more GCSE or equivalent grades A*-C for York Local Authority (LA) and Yorkshire and the Humber Region. Year: 1995/96 to 2011/12(3). Coverage: England (State-funded sector)(4) 
			  York LA Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1995/96 47.7 37.1 
			 1996/97 51.4 37.9 
			 1997/98 48.9 38.7 
			 1998/99 51.5 40.5 
			 1999/00 52.6 42.1 
			 2000/01 54.2 43.0 
			 2001/02 56.4 44.2 
			 2002/03 58.9 45.6 
			 2003/04(5) 56.6 47.2 
			 2004/05 60.6 51.6 
			 2005/06 62.1 54.5 
			 2006/07 67.5 57.8 
			 2007/08 68.5 62.1 
			 2008/09 73.1 69.2 
			 2009/10(6) 80.7 76.8 
			 2010/11 84.3 81.6 
			 2011/12 88.1 84.1 
			 (1) Figures from 1995/96 to 2003/04 relate to 15 year old pupils (age at start of academic year). From 2004/05 to present relate to pupils at the end of key stage 4. (2) Including attempts and achievement in previous academic years. (3) Figures for 2011/12 are revised, all other figures are final. (4) Local authority and region figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. Local authority and regional figures cover achievements in maintained schools including academies but excludes hospital schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Alternative Provision (AP). (5) Figures from before 2003/04 refer to GCSE/GNVQ only. After 2003/04 the figures include GCSE, GNVQ and new approved equivalences. (6) The figures given from 2009/10 onwards includes iGCSEs. Source: Key stage 4 attainment data

Free School Meals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 599, on free school meals, what assessment he has made of how many and what proportion of families with children in receipt of free school meals earn more than £135 a week.

David Laws: Around 50,000 families with children in receipt of free school meals have net earnings of above £135 a week. This is around 8% of the total number of families with children in receipt of free school meals(1).
	The Government has not yet decided on entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit, but has stated clearly that the move to universal credit will not reduce the number of children entitled to free school meals.
	(1) These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2011/12 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
	Net earnings includes income from employment and self-employment net of tax and NI.
	Numbers of families have been rounded to the nearest 50,000 families.
	The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record some benefit receipt so the estimates presented should be treated with caution. In particular, the sample size for families with children in receipt of free school meals with net earnings above £135 a week is relatively small, so estimates for this group are subject to a higher degree of sampling error than the other groups.

Free School Meals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 599, on free school meals, if he will set a date for the publication of plans for the future of free school meals under universal credit.

David Laws: We have not yet finalised the entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop suitable criteria that will ensure free lunches continue to be available to those families on the lowest incomes.
	We will allow good time for interested parties to comment oh our proposals before we introduce the new eligibility criteria.

Higher Education: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much mainstream grant funding was allocated by the Training and Development Agency for Schools to (a) the University of York and (b) York St John University in each year since 1995-96 in (i) cash terms and (ii) at constant prices.

David Laws: The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), previously the Training and Development Agency for Schools, only hold the information requested from the academic year 2000/01.
	Mainstream grant funding covers the cost of providing undergraduate and postgraduate courses in initial teacher training (ITT) (e.g. it excludes bursary payments which NCTL makes to providers to pass on to trainees) and can be seen on the following table for (a) the university of York and (b) York St John university.
	From 2012/13, the full cost of providing ITT has shifted to the trainee via tuition fees. In academic year 2012/13, only those providers who had undergraduates who started their ITT before academic year 2012/13 would receive mainstream grant funding. The full cost of new undergraduates and postgraduates from academic year 2012/13 are covered through tuition fees.
	
		
			 Mainstream funding 
			 £ 
			 Academic year (AY) University of York York St John 
			 2000/01 522,036 2,605,092 
			 2001/02 532,552 2,502,222 
			 2002/03 540,349 3,028,563 
			 2003/04 576,800 3,215,924 
			 2004/05 619,108 3,442,744 
			 2005/06 636,840 3,624,465 
			 2006/07 664,930 3,794,056 
			 2007/08 833,650 3,600,240 
			 2008/09 764,390 3,774,990 
			 2009/10 778,880 3,773,560 
			 2010/11 760,690 3,399,050 
			 2011/12 697,780 3,413,520 
			 2012/13 0 1,175,040 
			 Total 7,928,005 41,349,466

Obesity: Children

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department (a) has issued to schools since May 2010 and (b) plans to issue to schools in the next six months on reducing obesity among people under the age of 16; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: This Government recognises that through physical education, competitive school sport and healthy eating, schools can help address the problem of childhood obesity. Public Health England (PHE) produces annual guidance for schools to support local delivery of the National Child Measurement programme. An updated version of the guidance for the 2013/14 academic year will be published by PHE in the summer.

Primary Education

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has assessed the potential social, educational and economic benefits of supporting play therapy and early intervention at key stage 1.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential social, educational and economic benefits of supporting play therapy and early intervention at key stage 1.

Respite Care

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which body determines whether a parent receives any respite hours when coping with a child who is autistic.

Edward Timpson: Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities are required to provide a range of services to meet the needs of 'children in need' in their area, including disabled children. Where appropriate, section 17 social care assessments will consider and agree services and support for parents and carers where these will help deliver better outcomes for the child.
	Additional duties apply in the case of short breaks, or respite, for carers of disabled children and young people, including conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Under regulations introduced in 2011, local authorities are required, so far as is reasonably practicable, to provide a range of short break services to help carers to continue to provide care, or to do so more effectively. Local authorities must also, in consultation with carers in their area, prepare, publish, and keep under review, a “short breaks services statement”, setting out what services are available, the categories of carer who may be eligible to gain access to them, and how they are designed to meet the needs of carers in the area.
	Based on the resources available to them and their assessment of the individual needs of the disabled child or young person, local authorities decide whether to offer short break services and what form that provision should take. In most cases, it will be possible to agree an appropriate level of short break services but where families cannot reach agreement with local authorities they should use the complaints procedures which local authorities must have in place.
	The Government do not set out minimum levels of short breaks provision but to support local authorities in meeting their duties, we have made available to them over £800 million between April 2011 and March 2015 through un-ring-fenced grants. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, a further £40 million of un-ring-fenced capital funding per annum was allocated to local authorities, allowing them to invest in additional short breaks equipment and infrastructure.

School Meals

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in (a) Hampshire and (b) England have been denied access to school meals as a direct result of failure to pay outstanding meal fees in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department does not collect this information.
	Individual schools are responsible for the administration of their school meals service, including the collection of lunch money. Where there are difficulties making payments, we would encourage schools and parents to communicate with one another as soon as possible in order to reach a mutually agreed arrangement.

School Meals

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the amount spent by schools in England on the purchase of meat for consumption in school dinners in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: It is not possible to estimate the amount spent by schools in England on meat for school dinners. Individual schools are responsible for their own lunch service, and will work with their caterer to agree menus and costs.

School Meals

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools served hot school meals in each year from 2010 to the latest available date; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: In 2010, 93.3% of primary schools and 93% of secondary schools either had the facilities to prepare a hot meal or had a hot meal transported from another school or venue. In 2011, the figures were 98% of primary schools and 98% of secondary schools. In 2012, the figures were 99% of primary schools and 99% of secondary schools.

School Meals

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools who had school-provided lunches in each year since 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The take up of school lunches in primary schools was 41.4% in 2010, 44.1% in 2011 and 46.3% in 2012. The figure for secondary schools was 35.8% in 2010, 37.6% in 2011 and 39.8% in 2012.

Schools: Catering

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what grants for capital spending to improve kitchen facilities were made to schools in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: In 2010 capital grant funding of £72.1 million was provided to improve kitchen facilities in schools.
	In 2011, the Government increased the freedom local authorities and schools have over the use of the capital grant funding allocated to them, so they can decide their own capital investment needs according to local priorities. Since then, capital funding has not been ring-fenced for improving kitchen facilities.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many incidents of violence towards (a) staff and (b) pupils were reported in the 10 per cent of (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools with the (A) lowest and (B) highest levels of free school meal entitlement in each year since 2010 .

Elizabeth Truss: Information in the form requested is not available.
	The Department collects information on the reasons pupils are excluded from school. Data on physical assault against pupils and adults, and verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against pupils and adults, for both the 10% of schools with the highest and the lowest percentages of free school meals eligibility, are shown in the following tables.
	The latest information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions for the 2010-11 school year is published in the ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2010/11’ Statistical First Release(1).
	Information for 2011-12 will be published on 25 July 2013 in the ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2011/12’ Statistical First Release(2).
	(1)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-academic-year-2010-to-2011
	(2)https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/series/statistics-exclusions
	
		
			 State-funded primary and state-funded secondary schools1,2,3: Number and percentage of permanent exclusions by reason for schools with the lowest and highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4,5,6) England, 2009-10 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) 
			  10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 
			  No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil x x 20 0.00 10 0.00 140 0.05 
			 Physical assault against an adult 10 0.00 40 0.01 10 0.00 70 0.02 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against a pupil 0 0.00 10 0.00 x x 40 0.01 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against an adult 0 0.00 20 0.00 20 0.00 80 0.03 
			 Total 10 0.00 80 0.02 40 0.01 320 0.11 
			 ‘x’ = Less than five or a rate based on less than five. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (4) For each school the percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between five and 15 as at January 2010. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) at the time of the January 2010 School Census. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary and state-funded secondary schools(1,2,3): number and percentage of permanent exclusions by reason for schools with the lowest and highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4,5), England 2010-11 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) 
			  10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 
			  No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) No. of permanent exclusions % of school population(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil x x 30 0.01 10 0.00 90 0.03 
			 Physical assault against an adult 10 0.00 50 0.01 x x 60 0.02 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against a pupil x x 10 0.00 10 0.00 40 0.01 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against an adult x x 10 0.00 10 0.00 70 0.02 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 10 0.00 90 0.02 20 0.01 260 0.09 
			 ‘x’ = Less than five or a rate based on less than five. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (4) For each school the percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between five and 15 as at January 2011. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) at the time of the January 2011 School Census. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary and state-funded secondary schools(12,3): Number and percentage of fixed period exclusions by reason for schools with the lowest and highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4,5), England, 2009/10 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) 
			  10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 
			  No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 210 0.07 2,160 0.47 2,090 0.58 6,740 2.39 
			 Physical assault against an adult 170 0.06 1,630 0.36 140 0.04 1,160 0.41 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 20 0.01 510 0.11 400 0.11 1,470 0.52 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against an adult 60 0.02 1,160 0.25 2,160 0.60 7,070 2.51 
			 Total 460 0.15 5,470 1.20 4,790 1.33 16,450 5.83 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (4) For each school the percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between five and 15 as at January 2010. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) at the time of the January 2010 School Census. Pupils may be excluded more than once. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary and state-funded secondary schools(1,2,3): number and percentage of fixed period exclusions by reason for schools with the lowest and highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4,5, )England, 2010/11 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) 
			  10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the lowest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 10% of schools with the highest percentage of free school meal eligibility(4) 
			  No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) No. of fixed period exclusions % of school population(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 170 0.05 2,170 0.47 1,920 0.53 7,460 2.64 
			 Physical assault against an adult 210 0.07 1,730 0.37 140 0.04 1,190 0.42 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against a pupil 40 0.01 460 0.10 340 0.09 1,600 0.57 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against an adult 70 0.02 1,180 0.26 2,040 0.57 7,040 2.49 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 490 0.16 5,550 1.20 4,440 1.24 17,290 6.12 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (4) For each school the percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between five and 15 as at January 2011. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) at the time of the January 2011 School Census. Pupils may be excluded more than once. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many incidents of violence towards (a) staff and (b) pupils were reported in (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools in each year since 2010 .

Elizabeth Truss: Information in the form requested is not available.
	The Department does, however, collect information on the reasons pupils are excluded from school. This includes exclusions relating to physical assault against a pupil or adult.
	Information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by reason for the 2009/10 school year can be found in tables 9 and 10 of the 'Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2009/10' Statistical First Release(1).
	Information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by reason for the 2010/11 school year can be found in tables 11 and 12 of the 'Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2010/11' Statistical First Release(2).
	Information for 2011/12 will be published on 25 July 2013 in the 'Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2011/12' Statistical First Release(3).
	(1)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/167266/sfr17-2011nt.xls.xls
	(2)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/167464/sfr17-2012nt.xls.xls
	(3) https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/series/statistics-exclusions
	
		
			 Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1,2,3), number and percentage of permanent exclusions by reason for exclusion, England, 2009/10 (estimates)(4) 
			  Primary Schools(1) State-funded Secondary Schools(1,2) Special schools(3) Total 
			  Number of permanent exclusions(4) Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) Number of permanent exclusions(4) Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) Number of permanent exclusions(4) Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) Number of permanent exclusions(4) Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 90 14.2 880 17.4 20 16.3 980 17.1 
			 Physical assault against an adult 180 29.1 370 7.4 30 33.7 580 10.2 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 30 4.5 220 4.4 * * 250 4.4 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 70 10.8 550 11.0 10 6.9 630 10.9 
			 Bullying * * 50 1.0 * * 50 0.9 
			 Racist abuse * * 10 0.3 * * 20 0.3 
			 Sexual misconduct 10 1.1 90 1.7 * * 100 1.7 
			 Drug and alcohol related * * 370 7.3 * * 370 6.4 
			 Damage 10 2.0 70 1.4 * * 80 1.5 
			 Theft * * 130 2.7 * * 140 2.4 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour 190 30.1 1,460 29.0 20 17.6 1,660 29.0 
			 Other 40 5.7 830 16.5 10 9.8 870 15.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Total(6) 620 100.0 5,020 100.0 100 100.0 5,740 100.0 
			 * = Less than 5 or a rate based on less than 5. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Figures relating to permanent exclusions are estimates based on incomplete pupil level data. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions. (6) Totals include exclusions where no reason was given. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1,2,3), number and percentage of fixed period exclusions by reason for exclusion, England, 2009/10 
			  Primary Schools(1) State-funded Secondary Schools(1,2) Special schools(3) Total 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(4) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(4) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(4) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(4) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 9,030 24.3 52,480 18.8 2,510 16.9 64,030 19.3 
			 Physical assault against an adult 7,230 19.4 6,020 2.2 3,130 21.0 16,370 4.9 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 1,890 5.1 10,980 3.9 530 3.6 13,410 4.0 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 4,450 12.0 62,610 22.4 2,130 14.3 69,190 20.9 
			 Bullying 410 1.1 4,310 1.5 390 2.6 5,100 1.5 
			 Racist abuse 320 0.8 3,410 1.2 180 1.2 3,900 1.2 
			 Sexual misconduct 240 0.6 2,990 1.1 120 0.8 3,350 1.0 
			 Drug and alcohol related 50 0.1 8,470 3.0 250 1.7 8,770 2.6 
			 Damage 680 1.8 6,080 2.2 870 5.8 7,630 2.3 
			 Theft 230 0.6 6,150 2.2 80 0.6 6,460 1.9 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour 10,250 27.5 65,430 23.4 3,080 20.7 78,760 23.8 
			 Other 2,440 6.6 50,350 18.0 1,620 10.9 54,410 16.4 
			 Total 37,210 100.0 279,260 100.0 14,910 100.0 331,380 100.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1,2,3,4), number and percentage of fixed period exclusions by reason for exclusion, England, 2010/11 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) Special schools(4) Total 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(5) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(5) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(5) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of fixed period exclusions(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 9,160 24.2 50,950 18.7 2,360 16.4 62,460 19.3 
			 Physical assault against an adult 7,830 20.7 5,750 2.1 3,200 22.3 16,790 5.2 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 1,870 5.0 10,810 4.0 480 3.4 13,170 4.1 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 4,450 11.8 58,820 21.6 1,910 13.3 65,170 20.1 
			 Bullying 360 1.0 4,120 1.5 310 2.2 4,800 1.5 
			 Racist abuse 330 0.9 3,400 1.3 220 1.5 3,950 1.2 
			 Sexual misconduct 190 0.5 2,760 1.0 130 0.9 3,090 1.0 
			 Drug and alcohol related 30 0.1 7,570 2.8 320 2.2 7,910 2.4 
			 Damage 660 1.7 5,460 2.0 840 5.9 6,960 2.1 
			 Theft 230 0.6 5,830 2.1 80 0.6 6,140 1.9 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour 10,470 27.7 67,270 24.7 2,680 18.7 80,420 24.8 
			 Other 2,210 5.8 49,240 18.1 1,820 12.7 53,270 16.4 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 37,790 100.0 271,980 100.0 14,340 100.0 324,110 100.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1,2,3,4), number and percentage of permanent exclusions by reason for exclusion, England, 2010/11 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) Special schools(4) Total 
			  Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of permanent exclusions(5) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 90 15.0 650 14.9 20 16.7 760 15.0 
			 Physical assault against an adult 200 32.8 330 7.6 40 36.1 570 11.2 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 30 5.3 180 4.0 * * 210 4.1 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 40 6.6 460 10.5 10 10.2 510 10.0 
			 Bullying * * 50 1.2 * * 60 1.1 
			 Racist abuse 0 0.0 10 0.3 * * 10 0.3 
			 Sexual misconduct 10 0.8 70 1.7 * * 80 1.6 
			 Drug and alcohol related 0 0.0 290 6.5 0 0.0 290 5.6 
			 Damage * * 70 1.6 * * 80 1.5 
			 Theft * * 80 1.8 0 0.0 80 1.6 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour 200 33.2 1,490 34.2 20 16.7 1,710 33.7 
			 Other 30 5.3 680 15.6 10 9.3 730 14.3 
			 Total 610 100.0 4,370 100.0 110 100.0 5,080 100.0 
			 * = Less than 5 or a rate based on less than 5. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) The number of exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census

Schools: Standards

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1013W, on schools: standards, if he will ask HM Chief Inspector to provide the requested data for May 2010 according to the constituency boundaries that came into force in that month.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

Elizabeth Truss: Officials at this department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for monitoring and updating a single Twitter account:
	©educationgovuk.
	The National College for Teaching and Leadership, an executive agency of the Department, also manages:
	©getintoteaching
	and
	@the_college

Teach First

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of graduates from each Russell Group university applied to the Teach First programme in each year since that programme's creation.

David Laws: On average, 64.5% of all applicants to Teach First have come from Russell Group universities. The table shows the actual numbers of graduates from each Russell Group university that have applied to Teach First since its creation. Given the small numbers
	involved at institution level this gives a more accurate representation of the year on year changes than proportions.
	
		
			 Number of graduates from Russell Group universities that have applied to Teach First between 2003 and 2012 
			   Apps 
			 First degree university Average finalist class size 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Cardiff University 3,440 20 16 5 11 10 31 42 65 86 107 
			 Durham University 3,225 54 44 43 71 88 105 133 185 180 263 
			 Imperial College London 1,465 67 50 52 36 52 36 79 106 90 68 
			 King's College London 1,720 37 23 25 24 28 28 44 68 80 101 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) 1,275 30 25 23 37 26 26 68 63 62 73 
			 Newcastle University 3,030 19 12 9 22 20 27 51 105 90 135 
			 Queen Mary, University of London 3,700 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 80 94 123 
			 Queen's University Belfast 2,585 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 17 17 61 
			 The University of Edinburgh 3,038 42 56 41 59 54 70 97 79 93 177 
			 The University of Liverpool 2,630 12 12 5 11 14 20 46 85 123 147 
			 The University of Manchester 5,705 36 38 20 92 108 83 129 216 248 353 
			 The University of Nottingham 4,260 56 51 44 44 74 123 152 194 189 244 
			 The University of Oxford 2,935 132 95 122 127 110 148 212 226 282 313 
			 The University of Sheffield 3,735 14 35 15 15 23 25 70 116 124 204 
			 The University of Warwick 3,230 50 34 33 37 78 80 119 122 181 247 
			 The University of York 2,330 19 19 16 24 28 45 78 116 135 210 
			 University College London 2,575 60 38 24 48 29 52 104 118 131 163 
			 University of Birmingham 3,740 31 24 14 24 63 67 94 148 164 234 
			 University of Bristol 2,735 18 47 39 39 42 57 110 137 145 184 
			 University of Cambridge 2,805 119 79 64 74 75 114 147 222 241 272 
			 University of Exeter 2,850 10 8 7 13 15 27 43 58 74 109 
			 University of Glasgow 2,710 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 34 22 64 
			 University of Leeds 5,270 33 27 27 54 46 60 94 172 267 318 
			 University of Southampton 3,150 14 9 5 7 8 8 17 42 55 98 
			 Total apps from Russell Group universities  873 742 633 869 991 1,232 1,958 2,774 3,173 4,268 
			 Note: Average finalist class size is the average number of people that have graduated from each university annually over the period. Source: Teach First Graduate Recruitment data.

Young People: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people in City of York have received (a) education maintenance allowance and (b) the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund in each year since the introduction of that allowance and fund.

David Laws: The numbers of young people in the City of York who have received education maintenance allowance (EMA) in each year since its introduction are shown in the table:
	
		
			  Education maintenance allowance take up(1) 
			 2006/07 1,325 
			 2007/08 1,392 
			 2008/09 1,549 
			 2009/10 1,571 
			 2010/11 1,619 
			 2011/12 (2)606 
			 (1) EMA take up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year. (2) No new applicants to the scheme in 2010/11. 
		
	
	Information on the numbers of young people at particular locations who have received payments from the 16-19 Bursary Fund since it began in September 2011, is not held centrally. Information on payments made in the City of York will be held by the schools, colleges and training providers concerned.

Youth Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consultation his Department held with young people before publishing its report entitled Positive for Youth—One year on.

Edward Timpson: Departmental officials wrote to leading youth organisations, including the British Youth Council which represents young people, during the autumn of 2012 to ask them to provide case studies for the Positive for Youth progress document published on 3 July 2013. Since then, Ministers have met the National Scrutiny Group of young people and other youth organisations on a number of occasions and have discussed progress on Positive for Youth in those meetings.

Youth Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which youth bodies his Department consulted about the transfer of responsibility for youth services to the Cabinet Office; and what the dates were of those consultations.

Edward Timpson: Changes to the organisation of government are a matter for the Prime Minister, on the advice of the Cabinet Secretary. Discussions about this change have been ongoing for several months and a number of youth organisations, including the National Scrutiny Group of young people, expressed their views on future youth policy in a public letter to the Secretary of State in February 2013. A number of these bodies, including the National Scrutiny Group, the National Council of Voluntary Youth Services, the National Youth Agency, UK Youth, Prince's Trust and the British Youth Council were informed of the decision in advance of its announcement and have welcomed the transfer of responsibility for youth services to the Cabinet Office.

Youth Work

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department allocated for youth work in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: We provide funding for youth services through the Business Rates Retention Scheme. Local authority funding is not ring fenced and so local authorities can allocate resources according to the local context. As our statutory guidance makes clear, local authorities are best placed to decide what services will meet local needs and priorities and how to meet these needs within available resources. Local authorities' planned and actual expenditure on youth services, where it is segregated from other services, is published on the Department for Education website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/financeandfunding/section251
	The Department for Education has also awarded grant funding of between £73,000 and £845,000 in 2013-15 to 72 Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector organisations to develop and deliver innovative services for children and young people.
	As our report on the progress of Positive for Youth shows, young people are at the heart of shaping and making policy, and at the heart of local delivery. The report lists a number of cross Government commitments and programmes, such as Youth Contract, the Work programme, Traineeships, the Innovation Fund, the Troubled Families programme, National Citizen Service, the Campaign for Social Action and Youth In Action, which are supporting children, young people and families.